Predetermined
by yeknodelttil
Summary: Set after 3x13. Vlad has a destiny that he couldn't escape but Erin has one that she can. However helping her escape her destiny isn't as easy as it seems, especially when mortals and not fate itself decided hers. ADDED 29&30! COMPLETE! Added sequel news!
1. Library

Predetermined

_Author: yeknodelttil_

_Show: Young Dracula_

_Rating: K+_

_Genre: Romance_

_Pairing: Vlad/Erin_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Young Dracula. This is purely for the enjoyment of its fans, created by a fan_

_Spoilers: Series 3 of Young Dracula._

Summary: Set after 3x13. Vlad has a destiny that he couldn't escape but Erin has one that she can. However helping her escape her destiny isn't as easy as it seems, especially when mortals and not fate itself decided hers.

_A/N: this storyline a number of people have asked me to do, so I hope that I can do it justice._

I will post two chapters everyday and as I'm hoping to get this finished in the Easter Holiday today should be the only late post.

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Chapter 1: Library

The corridors were busy as people milled around preparing for their next lesson. The foyer was always the busiest place as people tried to push passed each other trying to get through.

For five minute before each lesson the school was complete chaos, usually if people left a lesson early the first thing on their mind was to get to the next lesson as quickly as possible to avoid the stampede.

Erin leaned against the table in the foyer; she pushed the bag higher onto her shoulder as she waited patiently.

She was jostled a few times as people tried to get past her but she didn't move. No one was going to get her to move.

Becky muttered and cursed as she was knocked, smoothing out her pristinely styled hair. It wouldn't do to look anything but her best around boys of course…and especially not around Vladimir Count.

"Why do you always have to wait for him?" Becky asked her, she never understood why Erin had to wait for him. It was as if Erin didn't want him sitting by anyone else, little did she know that Vlad didn't want to sit next to anyone else.

"Because I said I would." Erin answered automatically; they'd been over this a hundred times before. They had some lessons together but at the moment she had English Literature and he had a free period. Usually he'd be the one waiting for her but her class had finished early so she decided to beat him to it.

"Seems like a waste of time, you'll see him in the next lesson." Erin rolled her eyes at Becky's typical reaction; the last time they'd arrived separately Vlad had been offered shoulders to cry on thinking that they'd broken up.

"Has Vlad sorted himself out?" Becky inquired.

"What?" Erin didn't understand what Becky meant at all.

"He wouldn't speak to anyone while you were away." Becky seemed miffed as she spoke, she couldn't believe how Vlad had acted when Erin wasn't around. He wouldn't even look at anyone else, other boys would.

Erin didn't know exactly what had gone on during her absence but it hadn't made things any easier concerning their crushes on Vlad. She knew Vlad hadn't really attended school either during that time.

"Why don't you ask him?" Erin asked a smile spreading across her face making her whole face light up.

She glanced upwards towards the first level of the staircase. Vlad saw her and grinned widely, he hurried his pace slightly.

"Has he done something to his hair?" Becky asked her again, he really did look different. "He looks as if he's been reflected." Erin opened her mouth to speak, unsure what to say to that. Vlad's hair parting had switched sides after absorbing his reflection but she didn't think anyone would really notice. She should have known Becky spent at least twenty minutes of each lesson staring at Vlad.

"Not really." Erin managed to eventually squeak out.

Vlad reached them, dodging left and right out of the way. If they knocked him he wouldn't move but they would hurt themselves he didn't want to risk anyone else prying into his life.

"Hey." He spoke, his smile reaching his eyes. He noticed Becky with her again. "Becky." He greeted.

Becky giggled slightly and smiled at him, "Vlad." He had hoped his lunch 'date' with her had warned her off, it would have worked if he hadn't disappeared for a week to let her get over it. "He seems more confident." Becky muttered to her as Vlad grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. She squeezed his hand and instantly moulded to his side. Becky pretended not to notice Erin's subconscious action.

Erin gave her a small smile; Vlad had become more confident about their relationship since his merging.

"Are we going to history then?" Vlad asked them softly, his voice seemed louder than the noise in the corridors. The noise was beginning to die down now, as people didn't want to get caught by the late bell.

"I'll let you sit next to me." Erin teased making him laugh. He nodded slowly before pulling her along in the direction of the history room.

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Erin brushed against Vlad as she reached passed him to get to her pencil case. Vlad had borrowed something and in true style forgotten to put her pencil case back where he'd gotten it.

History had turned out to be a research lesson and not so surprisingly everyone had bunked off to go and have fun in the common room. Vlad would have gladly done that if he didn't know that he'd never get the work done at a later date, the same went for Erin. So that's what led them to the library, much to the disappointment of the female population of the history class.

The library was quiet, as it usually was. People always hated studying in the library. Vlad had the authority to use it outside of school hours as well. It was the safest – and most peaceful – place for them at the moment. It surprisingly had a range of books stocked in the large room. There were two floors to this library, it had been the library built for the school back in the days when it had been a hall. It had just been modernised as time went on.

Vlad froze next to her, his pen dropping to the floor.

"What's wrong?" Erin asked as she noticed him tense, she looked behind him towards the doors and realised why he'd froze. "Bertrand." Erin greeted tensely, rubbing her wrists instinctively. The rope burns had taken a while to fade. It was the only sign of her nervousness around him.

"Erin." He managed to say her name without a sneer, which had to be a first for Bertrand since what had happened.

Vlad looked between them cautiously. Vlad hated the pair of them being in the same room as each other, he was never sure whether Bertrand would definitely go against him and attack her or stick by Vlad's terms and conditions if he wanted to survive.

"What do you want?" Vlad asked him firmly, he wasn't in the mood for Bertrand to lower the atmosphere of the room.

Bertrand actually seemed nervous as he spoke. "I want to ask if you were planning to start your training again?"

Vlad let out a laugh, "I though the training was to open the book…"

"And prepare you for being Grand High Vampire." Erin watched the exchange silently, she didn't want to interrupt and draw attention to herself.

"You mean manipulate me." Bertrand remained quiet after that one, "If training begins again I promise you I won't take anything you tell me seriously." Vlad warned him, Bertrand had deceived him too many times, "And you won't be allowed as much freedom as you had before." He certainly wouldn't be allowed to speak as freely towards him, he'd taken liberties last time especially confronting him over his 'duties'.

Bertrand immediately tried to protest, Vlad couldn't tell him what to do, "Your father is the one…" 

"He'll agree with me. Everything that has happened to in my family and to Erin can be traced back to you. You don't tell me lies about Erin and my family, you don't manipulate or frame them and you don't tell me what I am to do about my kind, you will obey me when I demand something. Are we clear?"

Erin felt intimidated by Vlad's speech, even when she wasn't the one being disciplined. Vlad could be forceful when he wanted to be.

Bertrand bowed slightly, in forced respect. "Yes Vlad."

"Now get out!" Bertrand hovered for a few moments. "GET OUT!" He roared, this time everyone in the library turned to face him and see what the usually calm Vladimir Count was angry about.

Eventually they gave up growing tired of the staring match between Bertrand and Vlad and turned back to their work or searching for library books.

Bertrand sped out of the room, the moment he was gone Vlad slumped down into the chair, turning back around to get on with his work. Erin cracked a small smile at his reaction.

"What?" His brows furrowed adorably, although she'd never tell him that.

She shook her head slightly, he didn't even realise what he'd just done. "Why are you keeping him here?" Erin asked quietly, she wasn't sure why Vlad had been keeping Bertrand around. She hadn't had the courage to ask him before.

Vlad blinked slightly as he spoke, "Because I can keep an eye on him if he's here."

If there was going to be anything going on behind his back he preferred to have it going on right under his nose.

Erin decided to broach the topic that she didn't think was one of Vlad's wisest decisions, "I don't have to stay, I can find somewhere…"

"I want you to stay." He told her firmly.

She wanted him to see reason, "I used to be a slayer Vlad…"

"You saved my unlife Erin, and Dad's." Although the Count hated to be reminded of it, "I know I told you to get out but I want you to still live with us. I don't care that you were a slayer. I care that you're here." He lifted a hand to brush some hair away from her face and she leaned in instinctively to his touch, her eyes closing a fraction.

He'd never met someone who didn't mind his vampire side, she was slightly scared of it but she wasn't repulsed by it. Chloe had hated it and tried to ignore it, Jonno and his family had tried to kill him for it and Robin only ever thought it was 'awesome', he didn't understand the curse of being a vampire.

Erin felt herself melt at his words. She leaned closer to him and rested her forehead against his. Vlad smiled softly before pulling back. They didn't want to get barred from the library for publicly demonstrated affection, which would mean having to do work in the Dracula living quarters.

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Erin slowly packed her things away, Vlad always claimed not to know as much about history as she did but he always managed to write faster than her. Then again he was the best person at research as he could read a lot faster than the average person, although she did wish that she had the same ability as him but he had to be careful using that ability.

Vlad threw his bag over his shoulder and across his chest; he grabbed the strap as he always did with his right hand. He smiled at her as she stuffed her things deep into her bag. Erin had never bothered to pack things away tidily.

Erin yanked the zipper across, cursing slightly as it jammed. A few words reached his ears and he picked up 'fog' and 'garlic', she really had been spending too much time around him – not that he minded at all.

Vlad gently took her hand and pulled her from the library. Erin grinned and let him pull her along. He paused to let her out of the library first, he was a complete gentleman, she turned and mouthed 'thanks' to him. He let go of her hand for a moment before closing the door behind them.

As he turned he didn't expect Erin to still be hovering in the doorway. He knocked her forwards, making her stumble. He grabbed her shoulders, stopping her from completely falling over.

"Sorry." He whispered, Erin didn't answer her gaze was fixed ahead of her at the person who'd been seeking her out.

"The Slayers want a word." Renfield spoke, with an air of disgust in his tone as he mentioned the slayers.

Vlad was confused, as far as he knew he didn't have to speak to them for another month at least. "What do they want?"

Renfield shook his head. "Not with you Master Vlad,"

"Then who…" Understanding dawned on Vlad's face, they'd been expecting this. "Erin."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	2. Punishment

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_If there is anything anyone would like to see, please let me know._

Chapter 2: Punishment

Erin looked across at Vlad this was to be expected, she'd been waiting on this for the last two weeks. She had expected them to drag it on longer. They had a lot to consider.

"Mistress Erin, they are waiting." Renfield had taken to calling Erin 'Mistress Erin'; it seemed to mark Vlad's relationship with her in his eyes. Vlad didn't bother to dispute it.

"Where are they Renfield?" Vlad asked him softly, he saw the way Erin seemed to harden as if she was preparing herself for this meeting.

"The school hall."

Vlad's eye narrowed, he expected them to be waiting outside or in the foyer for them. He hadn't expected them to barge into his home for their tribunal.

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Erin slowly opened the door to the hall. They were taking a risk commandeering the hall for their own purposes; anyone could walk in and discover what they were.

Seated at a long table, (obviously one of the school collapsible ones) covered in a long, light brown drape with the emblem of the Slayers Guild embroidered in black on the front. At the table were seated four slayers. Two Vlad knew – Jonno and Mina Van Helsing, the other two he hadn't ever seen before and judging by Erin's lack of reaction she didn't know them either.

Mina extended her arm, to introduce the unfamiliar faces. "This is George Hartleigh and Catherine Millbrook. I assume you know why we're here?" She wanted to make sure this wouldn't be a surprise for her.

George Hartleigh was clearly an aging slayer, it was rare for a slayer to live beyond fifty and he clearly was nearing sixty. His hair was receding somewhat and he wore glasses. He looked more the teaching type than the slaying type.

Catherine Millbrook was in her late twenties, early thirties at a push. She wore a pinched expression as she looked at the younger woman. Her hair was pulled back tightly and she wore a tweed suit just like Mina was wearing next to her.

There were no signs of weapons on the table, obviously they didn't expect a confrontation or they were testing Vlad for this.

"Yeah." Erin nodded slowly,

"What are you doing in my home?" Vlad ground out; he didn't like surprises – especially surprises from slayers.

"We've got business we need to deal with Vlad, we didn't think Erin would want to come to the Guild again – or that you'd let her go on her own." The way Mina said it, she was almost accusing him of being a possessive boyfriend, he wouldn't let Erin into the Guild alone simply because he didn't trust the slayers.

"How did you clear this with Miss McCauley?" Erin asked quietly, if Vlad hadn't been informed then Miss McCauley would have had to have been.

"We've told her it's a meeting for those who want to go to the academy."

"And I'm guessing you missed out the 'Slayer' part." Vlad summarised with a small smirk, Jonno shrugged. Sometimes he wished that slayers were bound by the 'no entering unless invited in' rule that vampires had to obey.

Jonno turned towards his new ally, "Vlad this needs to be done in private." This wasn't a show; he didn't really want witnesses to the tribunal.

Erin looked behind her at Vlad; he seemed to be hovering nervously in the doorway. "Vlad can stay."

They looked at her, disgust barely disguised on their faces. They clearly didn't like her choice of companion, "Only family members…"

"Ryan's a half fang, I want Vlad here. You can't let one vampire be here and not another." Erin told them firmly.

George looked at him, "Fine." He glared at the young vampire. "But he stays in the background, he doesn't speak or move. He's still a vampire no matter the temporary truce."

Vlad rolled his eyes but didn't comment. He moved away from her giving her hand a quick squeeze, he wouldn't leave her in this.

Erin gave him a grateful look and prepared herself to receive her punishment.

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This had never been done before, in the Guild's five hundred year history, no slayer had ever betrayed them for a vampire.

They couldn't lock her away because no lives had actually been lost as a direct result of her actions, besides being locked up was a second option. The slayers had been killed while patrolling their usual locations.

Twenty years ago they considered wiping memories but there was always a personal connection to the Guild in some form or other so that was impossible.

And lastly killing her was against the law, human and slayer. They couldn't kill her without the fear of Vlad's kind retaliating against them and they knew Vlad could wipe them out with a mere thought.

Erin knew what her charges were; she was told them so she could mount a defence against them. There were six in total.

Her charges were:

1. Destroying the super weapon. (Although that had been more Vlad and the Count than her.)

2. Warning the target of an upcoming attack.

3. Entering the Guild under deception.

4. Freeing a vampire from 'protective' custody. (Protective meant protecting the breathers not the vampire.)

5. Inviting the future Vampire King inside the Guild Headquarters. (Vlad had wrinkled his nose at being referred to as the future Vampire King.)

And lastly,

6. Living with vampires without the intention to slay them (this one really was scraping the bottom of the barrel).

Erin stood tall; she didn't regret what she'd done and she knew she wouldn't.

The tribunal scrutinised her trying to make her crack, this had to be the first tribunal for 'Treason' (there was no other word for it). Usually when a slayer was disciplined it was either for endangering other slayers' lives or that they were poor slayers.

"How do you plead?" Anyone would think this was a court of law.

Erin wasn't going to plead guilty – guilty meant she had done something wrong. She'd saved a good person; Vlad didn't deserve to die because of them. If she pleaded not guilty it was like denying what she'd done. So she settled for another answer.

"I'd do it again to save them." She answered, automatically ruffling feathers. "If you had killed Vlad then there would have been no one to stop Sethius. Sethius would have killed you all." Bertrand and Ingrid's plans were already set in motion before the weapon had been destroyed, Sethius would have been resurrected regardless.

"You let your feelings cloud your judgement. You were his girlfriend." Mina reminded her,

"I *am* his girlfriend." Erin responded automatically before throwing a look over her shoulder towards Vlad. They'd never actually discussed whether they were together again or now. They'd just assumed they were. Vlad gave her a small smile and a nod.

This was news to George and Catherine, they had just assumed they were just friends and she had been corrupted that way.

"A vampire is your boyfriend?" The accusation rang clear across the hall making her wince. It had never been heard of, no slayer had ever chosen to be with a vampire and vice versa. It wouldn't change her punishment though; they were already going to cast her out for what she'd done. The only thing she cared about in this was Vlad's reputation.

"I never meant for it to happen." She spoke, she heard the small instinctive gasp behind her and she realised how it sounded. "But I wouldn't change it."

Mina shook her head, "In this job personal feelings don't matter. If you listened to that advice, slayer, then you would have done your job." That came close as possible to saying they still wanted Vlad dead even with the truce.

Vlad had had enough now, this was turning into a witch-hunt. "Leave her alone." Vlad began, stepping forward, forgetting the conditions for him staying in this tribunal. "You came here to do a job, get on with it."

George spoke, glaring at the insolent young man. "Back off vampire."

Vlad let out a low hiss, he only just managed to stop himself from lowering his fangs. He hated being addressed as 'vampire'. His proper title, if they wanted to be formal, was the 'Chosen One' until his coronation or 'Vladimir'.

Jonno leaned closer to George, his voice low hoping Vlad wouldn't hear. "Vlad is the Chosen One, the truce is with him." Jonno reminded him, Vlad had the power to break the 'ceasefire' and they didn't want to be caught in the middle of it if and when it did break. "Be careful with what you say to him."

George pulled back and nodded to him, accepting the young slayers advice. Jonno turned to Vlad but there was not look of apology on his face.

"Were you hypnotised?" Catherine asked her firmly. If Erin didn't feel confident in her choices she could take that option, plead that Vlad had hypnotised her to do all these things.

Erin's voice was clear as she spoke. "No."

A slight rustling of papers was heard as they tried to find another excuse for her.

"I understand that your brother being bitten was hard for you, I understand if it influenced you to commit these acts. I mean freeing your brother even though you knew there was no hope…"

"If that was the case why would I save Vlad? I could have let the whole Dracula clan be wiped out if I knew it would reverse it. I chose to save Vlad, there are no excuses. I wanted to save him. Stop trying to make up excuses for it."

Erin didn't want to go through excuses so they could find a way to blot out her actions from the Guild history books.

"Do you have anything to say in your defence?" Catherine tried again, though this time it was little more than a formality.

"Just that slayers need to understand their victims instead of going after them as some kind of revenge for something that happened. My brother was taken and I promised to help him, I failed but I tried to find another way. Vampires are people as well, they chose how they live like humans do." Well most of them did, some didn't have a choice. "Some of the vampires that you killed were vegetarians – they would never have touched humans. Not all vampires are evil."

They looked away and down at their papers. No matter how many vampires Jonno and the others had slain it wouldn't make the hurt and pain go away. It wasn't justice they were performing, it was genocide.

"We'll take that under consideration." George said not looking her in the eye once. Erin didn't care though, her words would make them think whether they wanted them to or not. "Now we'll sentence."

Erin knew her sentence already, it had been decided before this meeting and the chance to 'defend herself'.

He nodded to Jonno, Jonno had this wonderful task. "Your card." He asked quietly.

Erin reached into her pocket and withdrew it. Her hand didn't shake as she held it out to them.

Vlad looked at it curiously, he'd never seen a slayer's badge before, Erin had never wanted him to see hers, almost as if she hated it or was ashamed of it. It was exactly the same as a police warrant card, only this one was for the Slayers' Guild. Her badge was prominent in it.

With effort Jonno ripped the badge from the card and threw them both into a small metal tin. It reminded her of the one's surgeons use to dispose of swabs and soiled equipment during operations.

He lit a match and dropped it into the bowl, immediately the warrant card burst into flames. The smell of burning filled the air. Nothing would happen to the brass badge, it would only become covered in black residue nothing more.

George looked at the burning card, a nod of finality following, "It's done."

"You can appeal against the decision." Jonno told her quietly. The punishment had been set in stone for centuries; she had betrayed them to their enemy. It would have been worse if lives had been lost because of her.

"It's fine." She gave him a half smile. The members of the Board looked around in confusion.

"Are you saying you don't want to appeal?" Catherine asked, she didn't understand why Erin didn't want to appeal. "You do know this is your only chance to appeal." Erin nodded, she knew that. Catherine glanced at George in complete confusion, he seemed just as puzzled. Jonno and Mina didn't look confused, surprisingly they seemed understanding. "I thought your…"

"No I don't." Erin answered cutting of Catherine's train of thought. "Slaying isn't the career I wanted." The slayers in front of her looked taken aback at her words but she didn't care, slaying wasn't her first choice of occupation for life.

It took them a few minutes to recover, eventually George stood.

"Erin Elizabeth Noble, you have been found guilty of the charges brought against you. You have accepted your punishment and have chosen *not* to appeal against it. This tribunal hearing is over."

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Erin waited patiently for the board to leave, their business had finished now so there was no point in them staying. Vlad gently placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it slowly before turning her around to face him.

"You okay?" The purpose of the board had been to humiliate her.

"Yeah, just glad its over." She smiled up at him; they had been keeping her on edge for weeks as they tried to decide what to do with her.

"What exactly did they do?" He wasn't exactly sure what he'd just witnessed.

"Took away my slayer's license." She felt as if she'd gotten off lightly but a knot of dread formed in her stomach. She wasn't sure what it meant but she only usually got it when something was brewing in the distance – like when she saw Jonno and Mina for the first time.

Vlad didn't understand how it was a punishment, "So what does that mean?"

"I can't slay vampires, I can't go anywhere near the Guild ever again and I can't buy any slaying equipment." She gave him a small shrug, "Also I can't discuss slaying with anyone who's a member of the Guild or anyone else. Vampires don't count." She told him with a small smile. "If I do I will be locked away, probably in an asylum. They'd say I was mad to keep their cause a secret."

The young vampire couldn't believe what she'd just done, she hadn't even bothered to put up a fight.

"That was your whole life." Vlad whispered to her, "You just let them take it away." Only Vlad could defend her life as a slayer. Yes it had been a large part of her life – the only part in fact – until she met Vlad, she didn't have to be a slayer around him she could be herself and that's what mattered at the end of the day. In truth it felt like a weight off her shoulders, for the first time she felt free.

"It was my choice Vlad." Erin told him quietly. Her destiny looked easier to escape than Vlad's was. "You know what its like having your future decided for you, now I get to make my own choices."

Vlad gave her a small, grim smile. "At least one of us can escape." She felt guilty that she'd managed to get out of her destiny but he never had.

Erin's eyes softened and she moved closer to him.

Vlad looked down at her slightly as she placed a hand on his chest lightly. Vlad slowly lifted a hand to her cheek. Erin blinked slowly before moving her hand up to his neck, standing on her toes. He slowly leaned down towards her.

A blur suddenly appeared next to them making the pair of them jump as they caught it out of the corners of their eyes. Vlad shook his head and groaned, Erin looked just as irritated, this was the eleventh time since Erin had moved back in with them. He was sure his father had some form of radar, as he seemed to always know exactly when to interrupt them.

The Count looked between them, studying his son and the slayer girl. He didn't approve of their relationship but he knew his son wasn't going to be swayed. "Am I interrupting something?" Vlad bit back a comment and stepped away from Erin in annoyance. "You've got a letter, Slayer." The Count didn't look at her but Erin didn't take it personally, he didn't look at Ingrid unless he absolutely had to.

Vlad rolled his eyes at his father's 'insult'; Erin wasn't going to be addressed as anything else for a while.

The Count threw it at her; Erin barely caught it, the edges of the white envelope trapped between her fingers. She tried not to send him an irritated glare, instead she cursed him mentally.

Vlad was trying to hide it but he was curious, Erin seemed to sense it. She never received post. "Probably to let me know the Slayers' Guild decision in writing." They would send a letter for her 'records' although why anyone would want to keep a record of something like that was beyond her.

Erin ripped it open; it was strange that it was hand written usually the Guild typed everything.

She unfolded it quickly, it was only a short note. She squinted slightly as she stumbled over a few words, her dyslexia making them hard to process at first glance.

Her face suddenly blanched as the entire letter sank in. It wasn't the official confirmation of her punishment that she thought it was.

Vlad knew something was wrong from the way Erin clutched the letter, her knuckles turning white.

"What's wrong?"

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Thanks for reading._


	3. Contents

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_At the moment I don't know how long its going to be, I have a number of threads to include in this that will build up to the big picture…_

Chapter 3: Contents

Erin's hands trembled as she reread the letter to make sure she hadn't misinterpreted it. She hoped she had but there was no such luck.

Erin looked up at Vlad, a forced smile across her face, trying to desperately pretend that everything was all right.

"Nothing." She told him, her voice quavering as she spoke.

"Erin…" He drew out slowly looking at her. He could see the letter had scared her; Erin didn't usually get scare easily. Vlad was sure Erin looked as if she was about to be sick; she'd changed to a slightly green colour.

Erin seemed to suddenly snap to attention, she turned abruptly to face Vlad. "Nothing's wrong Vlad." She tried again. Vlad tried to look at the letter, he wouldn't normally but he wanted to see what had shaken her. Erin saw what he was doing and screwed the letter up, stuffing it into her pocket.

"Erin I know when something's bothering you, don't lie to me." His words were slightly begging, he couldn't be lied to again.

"I'm not!" She snapped at him, seeing the hurt in his eyes instantly appear. She'd told him too many lies in the past. "I just…have to deal with this on my own." She whispered.

With that she pushed past him and down the corridors.

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It took all of her strength not to slam the door shut. As soon as it snapped shut Erin hit the wall hard with her fist, she couldn't believe what the letter said.

She was supposed to have escaped. This was her first chance at doing what she wanted to do and she wasn't going to let them take it away from her.

She clutched her stomach as she fought the urge to retch. This was what happened when she got herself worked up, she always felt sick. Erin closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down.

She slid down the wall and rested her head against the damp wall. A few tears made their way down her cheeks, she didn't want this. She was happy where she was, why did they always have to ruin it for her?

Erin didn't want to think about what would happen to Vlad when they arrived.

There was only one thing she could do to protect him.

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Ingrid flipped over the page of fang magazine; she could hear the thumping of shoes down the corridor without using her sensitive hearing. No one else in the room seemed to be notice.

"Aww has poor Vladdy lost his breather pet?" Ingrid snarked as soon as she saw her brother – completely alone.

Vlad's answer was instant. "Don't push me Ingrid!" Ingrid immediately quietened seeing the harshness in his eyes, they darkened but didn't go completely black.

Ingrid nodded and gulped slightly, Vlad had only been that harsh once and she wasn't keen to relive it again. She still had nightmares about burning in the sunlight.

"What was in the letter Renfield?" Vlad asked his father's manservant. He felt guilty about prying into Erin's personal business but he wanted to help her and the only way that he could is if he knew what was in that letter.

The Count and Renfield looked too innocent for their own good, they seemed to look everywhere else and the Count's eyes were glowing a faint yellow. Renfield continued his cobweb angling at a more frantic pace wanting to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

"I don't know what you mean Master Vlad."

"Renfield you've never resisted steaming open a letter. What was the letter about?"

"The Master read it…OWWW!" Renfield's head snapped forwards as the Count hit him hard across the back of it.

Vlad slowly folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the right. He rolled his tongue in his mouth as stared down the Count. "So…" Vlad began quietly, leaving the question hanging in mid air.

The Count looked slightly sheepish inbetween throwing harsh glares at Renfield. "I think you'd better ask Erin."

For the Count not to tell him meant that for once the Count was showing some signs of conscience. Vlad ran a hand through his hair before turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

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Vlad knocked on the door to Erin's room lightly, he didn't get an answer but he could hear her inside. Cautiously he pushed the door open and poked his head around the door.

Erin was darting around the room in a hurry, she didn't seem to have heard his knocks. She jumped slightly as she saw him for the first time but she didn't ask him to leave.

Erin stuffed another jumper into her rucksack. He was shocked to see her packing her things, this wasn't the way to deal with anything – he should know.

Her eyes flickered to his for a moment before focusing on folding the blue scarf before giving up and creasing it as she forced it into the bag.

"You're leaving again." His voice was resigned.

"I'm doing this to protect you." She told him quietly, "I don't want to but I have to. If I stay you'll be turned to ash." She couldn't let that happen, she'd rather know that Vlad was still alive and be apart from him than be the cause of his death.

"Erin what was in the letter?" Vlad grabbed her arm as she tried to continue her packing; Vlad gently but forcefully brought her to stand in front of him.

Erin shakily drew her hand into her pocket, straightening out the creased the letter and handing it to him. Vlad looked at it curiously as he took it from her fingers.

It was short and unsigned; Vlad didn't have a clue who it was from. The neat cursive script was easy to read, nothing like his own quick scribble.

He began to read the contents of the letter.

'_Erin, _

_We have heard what has happened to your license; we can't say how disappointed we are in you._

_This disgrace is greater than the two our family already has to bear._

_We have heard nothing but rumours about you since you decided to hide from us. Rumours that we have had to deal with every day and aren't easy to be ignored._

_Your destiny isn't as easy to escape as you think. You were born a slayer, act like one._

_Both of us have decided to come to you and sort this mess out._

_Expect us *soon*.'_

Vlad folded the letter back along its creased before handing it back to her. He could see why it had upset her. He'd been told he was a disappointment often enough by ever vampire in his clan and Bertrand, however having it written down gave it a sense of permanency that words didn't have. Words would fade over time, writing didn't.

"They can't come here and see you." Erin told him quietly, taking the letter away from his fingers.

"Are you ashamed of me?" He asked quietly, looking away from her, desperately trying to ignore the stinging sensation in his eyes. He wondered in that moment whether she did actually mind him being a vampire.

Erin cupped his cheek, "Never." She stroked his cheek with her thumb, "I just don't want you getting hurt." She pulled away and turned to her packing once more. "You don't know what they're like."

"I'm assuming this letter is from…" He whispered to her, but he didn't want to finish.

"My parents." She confirmed, she looked away. They never signed their letters, an old slayer habit in case it fell into the wrong hands and considering they probably knew the rumours (although not how true they were) they didn't want to risk it. She didn't want him to ever meet them, not because she was ashamed of him but because what they could do to him.

Understanding dawned on Vlad's face, "And they're…" 

Erin nodded confirming his fears, "Slayers."

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Vlad always knew deep down that Erin came from a slayer family, there was no way you could just 'become' a slayer without having some kind of connections. Slayers were just as secretive as vampires were. They didn't reveal themselves for fear of being classed as insane.

"The truce is still in place." Vlad told her slowly, "They won't risk slaying my family."

Erin needed to remind him of one thing, "The truce isn't wanted by everyone Vlad." She took a breath. "My parents consider Ryan dead and buried because of what happened to him," That was one of thee disgraces, if Ryan was a true slayer he should have died when he'd been bitten not turned into a half fang. "They'll do worse to me when they realise that I have a vampire boyfriend."

"I'm not after their daughter's blood," He answered, although he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted every now and again when that ugly part of himself pushed against his tight control.

"I know, but they won't take your word for it. They won't even take mine."

Vlad tenderly stroked her neck, "Then I'll have to prove it." Erin leaned into his touch. She wasn't afraid; he hadn't been able to drink it when he was evil so she knew he couldn't drink it now. Anyway she trusted him, he'd never failed her before.

"Vlad they won't care, the Chosen One was the top of every hit list. They'll come in fully prepared to stake you."

Vlad held her shoulders gently, "I can handle them."

"I don't want them to slay you."

"They won't." He could protect himself but he had hopes that they could sort it out before it came down to actual self-defence. He didn't want anyone getting hurt but sometimes it couldn't be helped.

"They have more experience than me, don't trust them." Vlad was too trusting in his nature, which was his one main flaw.

"I won't." He promised her. A thought crossed his head. "How did they find out where you were?" Vlad asked her quietly, "Only your brother knew where you were. Did Ryan tell them?"

Erin shook her head; they'd disowned Ryan straight after his biting. Ryan was too proud to contact them after that. Her father had said he'd rather see Ryan dust than a vampire.

"I wrote to them but I never told them were I was staying. They probably were told by the Guild." She explained quietly. "When a slayer is punished their family's are told if they're under eighteen."

"Why do they have to be involved if you've graduated?" Surely if she'd graduated she could make her own decisions.

"We finish training at sixteen to match your kind becoming full vampires, the quicker slayers are trained the better. Jonno was still training because he never went to the Academy, but like you we're not allowed to make our own decisions until eighteen."

"Same as vampire culture."

"Pretty much."

"What do they know about us?"

"Nothing, they only know that I was somewhere safe." Vlad scoffed at that one, being safe in the Dracula house was like saying ice cream was safe in a sun bed. "With someone I trusted."

"So they don't know that you're living with vampires?" He asked her quietly. Erin looked down.

"There were rumours but nothing was ever confirmed, only Jonno, Mina and the tribunal know for certain." Erin paused preparing to answer Vlad's next question before he even spoke. "They can't tell them because they're bound in confidentiality as it was one of the charges against me." She had a slight smile at that although she knew that they'd try every trick in the book to get it out of her.

"So as long as they don't find out I'm a vampire we're fine." He summarised.

"Vlad they'd spot you were a vampire a mile off, it's not like you and your family are normal." Erin told him, quickly regretting it as she watched the glimmer appear in his eyes and the small half smile crossed his face. "Vlad…" She warned slowly, trying to get him to reconsider what he was planning.

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	4. Disgrace

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_A slightly longer chapter…_

_I'm trying to get back to my 9:30pm posts._

Chapter 4: Disgrace

The Dracula clan sat in stony silence as they looked at each other, trying to process exactly what Vlad had just said.

"You want us to do what?" The Count roared at his son,

"Act like a normal breather family." Vlad repeated, not flinching once as he spoke to the anger of the rest of his family. "Its only while Erin's family is around."

Bertrand answered next, "This is just to protect your slayer." Vlad sent him a harsh look and immediately Bertrand stepped back, he'd overstepped his bounds. He'd spoken out against him again.

"Its to protect all of us!" Vlad shouted at him, the Count had a closed mind.

Erin felt eyes on her so she wanted to defend herself a little, "I wanted to leave."

The Count clapped, he agreed with her completely. "Then go. Solves all our problems."

"Erin isn't leaving." Vlad answered automatically. "And you aren't going to make her." He answered before any of them could protest. Vlad's authority was showing through he's already proved he was a leader and he was just emphasising it once more. "Even if Erin does go they'll still turn up here."

"You have a slayer girlfriend who comes from a slayer family, the slayers want you to end the relationship and if our kind finds out…"

"We'll take the risk." Vlad and Erin spoke at exactly the same time. They caught each other's eyes and Vlad looked away while Erin blushed and looked down.

If the rest of the vampires found out then Vlad would be a laughing stock. He was supposed to date amongst his own kind the same went for Erin. If his kind ever found out then there would be chaos.

"You said it yourself Vlad, you're from completely different worlds." The Count reminded Vlad gently, nothing would be simple about their relationship. Both cultures had widely diverse traditions. Vlad's relationship would be considered as a courtship, in their culture that led to an engagement. In Erin's it could lead to engagement or it could lead to nothing.

"I know, but it's worth it." Vlad felt a connection to Erin that he'd never felt with anyone else. She made him actually accept himself and she made him happier than he'd been in a long time. He wasn't going to lose that because some people didn't like them being together.

The Count brought them back on topic, he couldn't bear the topic of his son's love life for a moment longer. "We're supposed to be in hiding." The Count didn't understand how they could have found out.

"Your Carpathian Feast officially brought us out of hiding." Ingrid answered, looking at her nails all of the Count's friends were gossips.

"If they don't find out what we are then we're safe." Vlad reasoned. The others had to agree with that. "Look we don't know how long they'll be visiting and they won't be staying here." Or so they both hoped. "All we have to do is not act like vampires around them." Vlad's head snapped to Bertrand and Ingrid, "And don't even think about doing it on purpose otherwise I'll be the one you have to watch out for."

The pair nodded slowly, they knew Vlad would stick to his threat especially when this was to protect Erin as much as themselves.

Ingrid leaned forwards, resting her hands on her knees. "What do you want us to do?"

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Vlad helped Erin finish building the bed frame. It had never crossed his mind that Erin would prefer a bed to a coffin. He knew he preferred a bed but his coffin had now become a safety feature for him. He was safe inside its metal confines. The old bed frame had been a feature when they'd brought the school, until now it had been stored in the basement having been ripped out for his coffin when he'd transformed.

"Ingrid sent Ryan away." Vlad told her softly, "They won't know he was ever here."

Erin felt guilty about pushing her brother aside but if he were here it would endanger everyone.

She stuffed the dusty duvet with the winter quilt while Vlad quickly dealt with the pillows and pillowcases. She had to admit she didn't expect Vlad to be able to sort out bed sheets as quickly as he could, the red of them screamed Vlad to her, she hadn't actually thought he would sleep in a bed before having to sleep in a coffin. He shook the bedclothes again removing any traces of dust, they'd been in the bottom of his wardrobe for almost two years – he couldn't bring himself to throw them out.

"They must be worried about you." Vlad told her quietly, "They managed to track you down."

"They're more worried about preserving my destiny than anything else." Erin bit out, not in anger at Vlad but in anger at her parents. "I just wanted to be normal, they wouldn't let me. I had a destiny and I wasn't going to get out of it."

Vlad gave her a sad nod, he knew what it was like to want to be normal, to fit in.

"You had to carry on the family name." He was told he had to carry on the Dracula name.

Erin shook her head, being a slayer was part of her destiny but there was more. "Worse." Erin turned and sat down on the bed, sinking into it. She'd forgotten what a bed felt like. She hadn't slept in one for six months.

Vlad perched next to her, his hands in his lap. He didn't get too close in case she didn't appreciate it. He knew when he was upset he hated any form of contact. He'd shied away from Erin's more than once.

Erin knew she'd have to tell him the whole story – exactly why she had this 'great' destiny that she hated.

"Twins are rare amongst slayers, even brothers and sisters are rare." She took a breath; she'd never mentioned this to anyone. Her father had forbidden it to be mentioned to anyone outside her family. "When we were born Dad decided that we'd be the greatest slayers our world ever saw, a duo that would be feared by the vampire world. We'd be famous amongst the slayers and remove the disgrace on our name."

"What disgrace?" Vlad asked her gently, she didn't have to tell him if she didn't want to. Vlad wrapped his arm around her shoulders; Erin leaned into his touch resting her head on his shoulder.

"My great grandfather, Claude Noble led an attack against a clan of vampires. He was heavily armed and there were fifty slayers. He'd relayed the information to the Guild himself, the location, the time, the date and how many vampires there were."

"And obviously the Guild thought they had an advantage." He summarised.

Erin nodded slowly, she'd been told this the days he turned five. "Claude found out that there were supposed to be twenty. So they gave him new recruits thinking they could treat it as a training exercise as it would be a walk over."

Vlad didn't like where this was going. "How many were there on the night?"

"One hundred. It was the night of a feast." Vlad winced; vampires couldn't resist a challenge and especially not one from slayers. "He hadn't checked his information out, he'd been deliberately misled. They fought against the clans but the vampires won. He was the highlight of their feast."

"A hunt ball." He muttered softly and she nodded. They'd been prepared for them; the best hunt balls had a challenge. Slayers were the greatest challenge that vampires could meet.

Vlad knew the story, it was one his father had proudly told him when he was young, the story of the Victory at Grindoa. Grindoa wasn't a location it was the name of a castle. Once owned by the Grindoa clan, one of the most powerful clans until the recent slayings.

"Not one slayer survived. Over half of the British Guild had been wiped out. Claude Noble was held responsible and his descendants' names were blackened forever. The Nobles were only allowed to train because they were desperate for slayers. Dad wanted me and Ryan to set the records straight by becoming the most revered in history in the hope that Claude Noble would be forgotten completely."

"So your 'disgrace' reminds them of it." Erin nodded. "Another Noble dishonoured by the Guild."

"Mine's worse because I chose to betray the slayers even if they don't know why yet. Claude did it accidentally."

Vlad slowly pushed them backwards onto the bed. Nothing inappropriate of course, Vlad turned onto his side to look at her and Erin mimicked his actions. Erin's eyes were slightly glazed as she looked at him. "You don't have to live up to their expectations."

"You did." She regretted saying it but he nodded. He had no choice.

"Anyone could have been the Chosen One." He kissed her forehead lightly, "It was just a chance it was me but I can do what I want with it." He knew he'd have a hard time but he was convinced that he'd be able to change things for the better over time. "Dad always told me I'd be a vampire, it was a biological fact I couldn't change but he never decided my destiny for me, fate did that."

"My parents told me mine." She whispered, she hated being told what to do. "Ryan was the brawn and I was the brains. Ryan enjoyed the Academy – I hated it." Erin's shook her head, "Only once did I actually accept what I was, it was when Ryan was bitten." She looked up at Vlad and he knew what she meant, she wanted to free Ryan slaying them because they were vampires didn't enter into it. "I just ran, I packed Ryan into the boot of the car and drove away."

"You can make your own choices here." He promised her rubbing her arm lightly. "Destiny isn't decided by parents it's decided by fate."

"You try telling them that." She whispered before moving closer to him and wrapping her arms around him tightly. Vlad pulled her close and kissed her hair lightly.

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Vlad's ears perked up just as he finished emptying the last dustpan of Renfield's immaculately placed cobwebs. Seeing his family and Bertrand tidying up had been a strange, most probably disturbing sight. Wolfie had strangely enjoyed it.

The school actually looked 'normal' for once. All of the bulbs had been replaced in the rooms to give it a brighter feel, the walls had been brushed down and the flaking wallpaper had been pasted back onto the walls. There wasn't a speck of dust in the throne room, training room or Erin's room. They assumed they would be the only places the Nobles would go.

He mentally sent out a telepathic message to the other members of the house as he felt the ground vibrate slightly as two car doors were slammed shut.

Erin seemed to stiffen as she heard the same noises. Vlad moved closer to her as she brushed herself down, trying to get all signs of their quick spring clean from her clothes.

Vlad gave her a reassuring smile, he'd be there for her throughout this.

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The foyer door creaked open just as the clan appeared at the bottom of the stairs. They looked normal 'ish'. The count was wearing a long black jacket, black t-shirt and jeans. It still looked gothic but it was the best Vlad could expect he supposed. Ingrid wore a short black skirt but a deep red shirt, she didn't look as intimidating as usual. Bertrand wore the only breather looking things he had – his grey training clothes and the only one without his family crest on. It wouldn't do for the Nobles to see a vampire crest and suspect anything.

The door creaked open and a blur flew across Vlad's vision straight towards a startled Erin.

Mrs Noble rushed forward and embraced Erin warmly into her arms. Erin wasn't sure how to respond and loosely wrapped her arms around her mother.

Mrs Noble stepped back and away from Erin, looking her daughter up and down. Erin moved closer towards Vlad, breaking her mother's grasp on her. She didn't need Vlad's vampire senses to know that he was concerned about her.

"Mum." Erin greeted tensely, she wanted nothing more than to grab Vlad's hand but she didn't want to risk their outrage. "Dad."

Mr Noble scowled at his daughter and shook his head at her, he as clearly the one who was the most disappointed in her.

"The Counts this is my mum, Stephanie and my dad, Thomas." Stephanie gave them all a warm smile that was half heartedly returned to her but not one muscle twitched in Thomas' face. "Mum, Dad, this is Mr Count, Ingrid, Renfield, Wolfie and Bertrand." Erin introduced. Her father fixed a harsh glance at Vlad, Erin immediately leapt to introduce him. "And my best friend, Vlad."

Vlad was slightly confused at her addressing him as her 'best friend', but looking at her father's reaction he could see that she was afraid to tell him of their actual relationship.

Stephanie Noble was the same height as her daughter with matching features. She could have been an exact copy of her daughter if not for her long flowing ginger hair and the lines around her eyes. She seemed a loving mother from the way she gazed at Erin.

Thomas Noble stood tall, almost as tall as Bertrand. He gazed down at Vlad mistrust in his eyes immediately. He looked more like Ryan, but his hair was blonde, the same shade as Erin's. He had a small scar above his right eye that looked at least a decade old. He wore small, unframed glasses as he scrutinised the school with slight disgust, it clearly wasn't the place he wanted his daughter to be.

Both of the Nobles were younger than Vlad expected them to be, they were definitely younger than Mina Van Helsing and the Branaghs. There was something in that fact that made the hairs on the back of Vlad's neck stand on end. He didn't like it. There was something unspoken there.

Her father shook his head at her and Erin looked away from him. Vlad moved closer to her, he gentle placed a hand on her back where her father couldn't see it. He felt Erin relax instinctively into his touch.

Thomas glared at her, there was one thing he wanted to know and the sooner he found out the sooner the rumours could be squashed. "I take it they're not *cold* living here." 'Cold' was code for vampires in their family, Erin shook her head. The sooner they kicked off the deception the better.

Stephanie looked around the foyer at the architecture. "You own the school?" Her mother began addressing the Count.

The Count threw on a painfully fake smile but the Nobles didn't seem to notice in the least. "Yes, Vlad's train…" Ingrid kicked him, "Education is very important to me."

Mr Noble looked between them, picking up on the sudden change of wording.

Vlad seemed to wince at the tense silence, he extended his arm towards their living quarters. "Do you want to come inside…"

Thomas shook his head; he reached for Erin and firmly grabbed her bicep yanking her towards him, he took care not to hurt her though.

Vlad looked startled, the action surprising him. Then he realised something, as he saw the calculating gleam surface in Thomas' eye – nowhere in the letter did it say they were staying.

"Thank you for looking after Erin, but we're only here to take her home."

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Thanks for reading._


	5. Talk

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_I couldn't believe it yesterday, I'd actually managed to post at 9:30!_

…_then I realised it didn't show up until the early hours of the morning._

_I'm so sorry about that._

Chapter 5: Talk

Erin tried to yank her arm back but her Thomas Noble's grip was too strong.

Erin's eyes snapped to Vlad's in shock, she hadn't expected this. Vlad's eyes searched carefully for a moment trying to decide what to do.

Vlad lifted his hand but Erin shook her head, she knew what Vlad was planning to do. He could use his powers in front of them. They would know who he was immediately if he did. Vlad saw her plea in her eyes and nodded slowly dropping his arm.

"Erin's not packed." Vlad spoke the first thing that came into his mind.

Thomas looked at him sceptically, "That doesn't matter." He began to pull his daughter out of the school, Erin dug her feet into the ground trying to stop him from pulling her along but she wasn't strong enough. The placement of his grip had her at a disadvantage.

"She doesn't want to go with you." Ingrid pointed out, seeing the fearful look on Erin's face. Usually she would have relished Erin being in this situation but it reminded her too much of the Count's oppression of women although he'd never physically restrained her before.

"She doesn't want to do a lot of things." His voice had an edge that Vlad didn't like. Vlad's lip curled upwards slightly. Erin had a mind of her own and Vlad wouldn't change that but it seemed that her father hated it.

Erin saw his control slip, "Vlad…" She warned but her father misinterpreted her warning as a plea.

"This doesn't concern him Erin, you're coming home so we can sort this thing out."

"You can discuss it here." Vlad told him firmly.

"Its private."

Vlad threw his trump card, it was the only thing he could do. "I know you're slayers."

The Nobles froze and turned slowly to face him. "He knows what we are?" He spat at Erin, anger written across his face. "How much does he know?"

Erin answered before Vlad could, she understood why he'd said it. "Everything."

She felt Thomas' grip slacken. She pulled her arm away entirely from her father's grip and ran as fast as she could to Vlad's side.

Vlad pushed her behind him slightly, shielding her.

Thomas glared at him trying to intimidate the young vampire but Vlad didn't move. He wouldn't be moved that easily. His Gran was more intimidating that Erin's father and he's had nearly eighteen years of her. He didn't care if Thomas was her father, he was upsetting Erin and he wasn't going to allow it.

"I know what the charges were." Vlad told him firmly, his gaze never leaving the Noble patriarch in front of him.

"He knows?" Thomas looked over Vlad's shoulder, giving Erin a pointed look.

"Vlad was with me when they gave me my punishment."

"They let you take an outsider into the tribunal?" The true meaning of the question was you didn't ask us to be there?'. Vlad wasn't really an outsider as such granted he was a vampire, the tribunal had been familiar with him so they had let him stay.

Erin nodded, she wasn't ashamed of it. She was glad Vlad had been there, he'd given her strength throughout it.

Steph pushed past her husband, ignoring his indignant look. She addressed them all directly for the first time. "I think we need to talk about this, instead of arguing about it."

They weren't going to get anywhere with the young man protecting their daughter.

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The walk to the only tidy room in the school was tense and silent. Vlad kept Erin in front of him and behind Ingrid; it was the safest place for her. He would know instantly if they drew weapons on him, he would sense it. His instincts never let him down, his trust did but his instincts didn't.

The floorboards still squeaked as they walked over them, it was bad enough when one of them walked down the corridor but with nine of them the noise was unbearable. Vlad resisted wincing although his one eye was rapidly developing a nervous twitch.

"Did you lock the blood cellar?" The Count asked Renfield, this wasn't out of concern for Erin's parents finding it, no it was in case Bertrand and Ingrid used the distraction to sneak in again. He'd installed argentalium locks that their powers wouldn't work on when they tried to get in.

"Yes Master."

"We locked our rooms too." Ingrid whispered, they didn't want the Nobles to accidentally stumble on their coffins.

"Talk a little louder, I don't think they heard you." Vlad scolded making them jump. They spun to face Vlad's knowing look. The looked sheepish for a few minutes before walking away stiffly and quicker than before.

Erin tossed a look over her shoulder, "We're nearly there."

Her father snorted while her mother gave her a warm smile. Erin returned it instinctively before tripping slightly. Vlad grabbed her waist stopping her from falling onto Ingrid.

"Thanks." She told him as he helped steady her.

Her mother watched the exchange, seeing how Vlad's hands lingered on her daughter's hips and the way Erin didn't encourage him to move them.

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Renfield tried his best not to grimace as he handed round cups of fresh, hot tea. Ingrid looked at hers in disgust and Bertrand looked as if he was about to drink poison. Vlad supposed that he'd probably never drank tea in his life, he would just about have been born when it was first introduced to the western world. The Count would never have drank it in his life before.

They didn't actually have to drink it just make it look as if they did – and didn't let Mr and Mrs Noble see that they hadn't drunk it.

Erin grabbed the sugar instantly and added it to her cup. She was adding her seventh sugar when Vlad took the spoon from her, tugging it from her nervous grip. Erin's eyes snapped to his and she looked down at the cup realising she'd have to drink it now, a grimace crossed her face.

Vlad did the gentlemanly thing and offered her his untouched and unsugared tea. Erin accepted it from him gratefully.

"We've managed to sort it all out." Steph told Erin gently, a smile across her face as she spoke. Erin's punishment should have been set in stone; she didn't want to know what her father had done to undo it. "You can have your slayer licence back, if you agree to…"

"I don't want it back!" Erin shouted, standing up. The cup clanking against the table as she accidentally kicked it with her shin. She didn't notice the pain but she would have the bruise. "I'm not going to be a slayer."

The Count's appreciation for his son's girlfriend shot up, she was openly defying her parents on being a slayer. It proved that Vlad was right about her.

"You were born to slay vampires!" Thomas shouted at her, standing as well. "You're not destined to do anything else!"

The vampires in the house stiffened but the Nobles didn't notice – thankfully. The vampires tried to ignore the conversation that was going on but had no luck unfortunately.

"You were the ones who decided it, not me." Erin couldn't help herself she wanted them to understand.

"Everyone has a destiny," Her father snapped at her, throwing his arm out towards Vlad, "Even he has a destiny." He didn't have a clue how close he was, Vlad pretended to look baffled at the comment. "You'll learn to deal with it."

"How will Ryan deal with it? Where in his destiny did you plan for him to be bitten?" She yelled.

"Don't you *dare* mention Ryan. He's dead to us." Vlad looked at Thomas he could tell exactly

"He's been bitten he's not in the ground! I tried to help him all you did was try to stake him!"

"Erin you're the only person who can save our family name." Steph spoke to her quietly, "You need to get your license back."

"I'm glad I've lost it, that shows that I'm not destined to be a slayer, I might become a half fang like Ryan or a teacher or a nurse or anything else I might want to be."

Thomas clenched his fists as he looked at his now 'only' child. Erin had clearly touched a very sore subject. "Don't you dare joke about becoming a half fang! We lost one child to the vampire scum we're not losing another!"

Erin shook her head; they had no right to insult the vampires in the room even if they didn't know they were vampires. She was surprised at the restraint they were showing; their pride had just been damaged. Looking out of the corner of her eye she saw Vlad's gaze was fixed, he was scolding them telepathically stopping them from commenting.

"You've…" Erin bit her tongue before she could finish, she wanted to say 'lost another to them by choice', but she knew how they'd react.

She decided to have a sip of her tea before she said anything else that might drop the Draculas in it with her parents.

Steph could feel the tension in the air as she looked around at them. She decided that it wouldn't do them any good to get worked up so it was better to change the subject for a short while. "How long have you lived with the Counts?" Steph asked her daughter,

"A while." Erin replied, "Vlad found me when my car broke down and said I could stay until I was ready to leave." Grated he had thought she was a half fang back then.

Tom jumped at the chance. "And are you ready now?"

"No she isn't." Vlad answered for Erin, Erin gave him a grateful look. She looked at the Draculas and saw them nod, agreeing with Vlad completely. "Erin is a guest in my house, you are not." Vlad told the Nobles firmly. "I won't let you bully her into leaving it. She can stay as long as she wants." His authority was showing through. The Nobles looked at his father in confusion for allowing his son to speak out in this way to them. "You're definitely not taking her anywhere while you're angry."

"I'm not leaving here…" 

"Erin's not going anywhere, none of us are." Vlad reasoned with him. He glanced towards Erin, she seemed to know what he was about to ask. "Why don't you come back tomorrow when you've calmed down and we'll talk about it more?"

Vlad wanted to know how he'd pulled strings to get Erin back into the Guild, he wouldn't find out this way, besides he needed a plan of attack now he'd met them to defend Erin.

Tom seemed to consider what Vlad had suggested. There was no way he could take Erin out of here with three men and a woman prepared to protect her. "Fine, but we will be taking her home tomorrow."

"If its what Erin wants." Tom let out a growl at Vlad's answer. He might be her 'best friend' but he wasn't her parents or even her guardian so he didn't have a legal leg to stand on. Perhaps Erin would be more agreeable tomorrow though, she'd lower her guard enough to let him take her home.

"You think I don't know what's best for my daughter?"

Vlad automatically challenged him, "I know you don't."

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Tom shot daggers at Vlad as he rose to his feet; there was no way the young man was going to back down. If he was a slayer he'd admire him for it and if he was a vampire he'd kill him instantly for it. He didn't like how familiar Erin was with him or how familiar he was with Erin. He had a feeling they weren't as 'best friends' as Erin claimed they were, they were more. There'd be hell to pay if he ever found out that it was true.

Vlad kept vigil next to Erin, he wasn't going to move away from her an inch. He kept his eyes fixed on her father; out of her parents her father was the one to watch.

"He likes you." Steph grinned at her daughter, watching the concern in the young man's eyes for Erin.

"I like him too." Erin answered, there was no point in hiding it. She knew Vlad was listening even if he didn't do it intentionally; his hearing was far too sensitive.

"You know it can't go anywhere though?"

Erin felt a dart of anger flash through her, "That's my choice, not yours."

Erin flinched at her mother's next whispered words, throwing a glance towards Vlad. They were partly a warning. "At least he's not a vampire."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	6. Promise

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_I'm trying to get tomorrow's done for 9:30pm. I had to go out at the last minute so that's why this one is so late._

_I prefer posting at 9:30pm._

Chapter 6: Promise

Erin deflated the moment she saw the door close fully too, Renfield was escorting them back to their car. Vlad and the others still remained tense until they heard the car start up and drive away from the school.

Vlad opened his arms and Erin stepped into them, sighing as she breathed in his comforting scent. She always relaxed immediately when she could smell him.

"I suppose getting you to bite me won't work." She whispered to him, her eyes tearing but not one fell. She was only half joking.

"Biting you won't solve this." Vlad kissed her temple. "They'll want to slay you instead." Erin nodded he was right, that's why she had to get Ryan out of their way. They'd made the decision that Ryan didn't want to exist as a vampire, they hadn't actually asked him.

"It will if you drain her." Ingrid suggested, "I mean she'll be free that way." This was one fight she'd gladly be part of, she didn't like the idea Erin didn't have rights either.

The Count rolled his eyes, "You're not helping Ingrid."

Erin gave her a small smile; she knew Ingrid was only trying to help.

"You really don't want to be a slayer?" Bertrand asked Erin firmly, he wanted the truth he would be able to tell immediately if she was lying to him.

"I don't want my license back. I don't want to slay any of you. The vampire I killed was an accident." She told them firmly before they could ask about the vampire. "The UV grenade broke when I was trying to seal Vlad's coffin with her inside, I never wanted to hurt her."

The Count nodded, he seemed to believe Erin's comments and judging from Vlad's impassive reaction he'd already been told this before. If she'd come clean with him then if his son wanted her here he wouldn't be able to stop it. "She can stay here, if she doesn't want to be a slayer then she doesn't have to be." Vlad gave him a grateful smile before his father continued, "Besides having one less slayer in the world makes crushing them easier."

Vlad shook his head at his father's typical comment, Erin didn't seem offended though so he let the subject drop.

Erin wouldn't feel any better in this room with his family; they always made the atmosphere gloomy even though most of the time it was unintentional.

Vlad unwrapped his arms from around her, he stepped back and lifted her chin upwards. "Come on."

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Erin breathed in lungful after lungful of the cool night air. Vlad watched her with a little envy; he missed being able to breath although it sounded ridiculous.

She closed her eyes taking in the peaceful night. The school was on the edge of the city but they rarely heard any of the city noises. Opening her eyes she clanked upwards at the moon, smiling as the courtyard was bathed in a moonlit glow of white. There were no clouds in the sky so she could see the stars clearly. Looking up at the stars always used to calm her down, she was glad to find that it still worked.

Vlad watched her in fascination as she looked up to the stars, he'd never really studied them. All his life he'd avoided anything to do with the night hating that it would be the only sight he'd see after sixteen years of living in the daylight. Looking at them he could see why breathers were so fascinated with them.

Erin folded her arms over her chest, the air was colder than that in the school. She was used to the cold of the school as Vlad's clan didn't really need to use heating as they didn't feel the cold, although some warmth came from the fires that the Count like to light in various rooms. Although they had tried to use the central heating but they soon discovered it needed fixing and there was no point in paying out if they were only going to use it once. She felt her skin goosebump but she enjoyed the sensation.

Vlad moved behind her and ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to make her feel warmer. He kept his distance, his cool body temperature wouldn't help her at all. He couldn't get used to not seeing her with a scarf around her neck to hide her nonexistent scarf. She obviously trusted him and his family to keep it exposed and that meant a lot to him – anyone else would have kept it hidden and protected.

Erin tipped her head back and looked at him, "Thanks."

Vlad was confused, she didn't need to thank him for anything. "For what?"

"For not letting them take me." She doubted he'd be able to stop them from taking her again.

"You didn't want to go," He answered although there was more too it. "I'm not going to hand you over to them." Erin pulled out of his grasp and he immediately thought he'd said something wrong until he saw her eyes. Erin's eyes were soft as she looked at him, he wasn't the best with words but she knew what he meant.

"I don't want to leave you either." She answered making him grin widely. "You might not be able to stop them next time." She looked down.

"I'm not losing you without a fight." Vlad answered automatically, making her head snap up to his. "We've dealt with Bertrand, Ingrid, Jonno, Mina, the tribunal, Carpathian Feasts and Sethius," He listed, he knew he was missing some things but they were the main ones. "We'll deal with them together."

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Vlad ran a hand through his hair trying to decide what to say. He remembered he wanted to give her something and now seemed like the perfect time to do it.

"I want you to have this." Vlad handed her something small, dropping it onto the palm of her hand. Erin looked down slightly confused as she realised what it was.

It was the symbol of what he was supposed to become. It was a signet ring presented to him by Vampire High Council. Vlad had never chosen to wear it; it had been given to him on his sixteenth birthday. Every male vampire clan member had one but Vlad's was more important than any other clan ring as it would show his authority.

The ring was solid silver and wasn't over the top in decoration or prominence. It had his clan's coat of arms prominently displayed; just above the coat of arms was the crown of the Grand High Vampire.

Vlad was supposed to carry it at all times, he couldn't wear it officially until he turned eighteen. He usually had it stuffed into one of his pockets.

"This is your…" She trailed off as Vlad shrugged, he didn't seem bothered. She knew he had one, she'd seen it when he used to transfer things from pockets. She'd never seen it properly just a flash of silver – until now. To give it to her showed how much he cared about her, he'd be in a lot of trouble if it were lost.

"It'll prove…" He paused, wincing as he spoke, he knew how she'd feel about it. "That you're under my protection,"

Erin smiled at his thoughtfulness. "I don't think vampires are the main threat."

Vlad shook his head, she didn't understand. "Not just from vampires." Erin knew what he meant, he'd protect her from her own family if he had to.

"I can look after myself." Vlad knew she could but it still didn't stop him worrying about her.

"Erin, I want to protect you. This is to remind you of that." He spoke gently.

Erin smiled at him, her fist closed around the ring in her palm. She couldn't wear it on her hand she knew that (besides it being too big). Vlad seemed to understand and handed her a small but strong, silver chain, it told her he'd been planning this for a while.

She slipped it on the chain and quickly fastened it around her neck, she gasped as she felt the cold metal against her chest when she tucked it under her shirt. She didn't want her parents seeing it. She'd look after it for him until he could wear it officially – if he ever decided to.

Vlad nodded, pleased that she'd accepted it. It was a symbol of his promise to protect her, if any vampires saw it they would know not to harm her, slayers would know exactly the same thing.

Erin slowly reached up and grasped the collar of his jacket, running her hands along the leather. Vlad studied her eyes carefully, seeing that she wasn't hesitating. This would be their first kiss since he found out she was a slayer.

Vlad leaned down slowly towards her before pulling back sharply, his eyes darting around the courtyard. Erin arched her back, "What's wrong?" She was worried he'd heard something.

"Checking dad's not around." He explained making her chuckle, the Count had developed the habit of interrupting them.

He turned back to her and closed the gap, kissing her slowly feeling her warm lips against his cool ones. Her main tell tale sign that she was a breather.

Erin gave a small sigh as he deepened the kiss. Vlad pulled her closer to him, wrapping one arm around her waist holding her tightly to him, his right arm guided her head in the kiss to he could kiss her easier. Erin trailed her hand up from his collar to the nape of his neck. She tangled her fingers in his jet-black hair, arching into him.

Their tongues battled passionately before slowing to a more leisurely pace as they kissed.

Vlad remembered Erin needed to breathe, he often forgot as he didn't breath and slowly pulled his lips from hers with a few moans of protest from Erin. She pressed her lips back to his a few times in short butterfly kisses but he refused to let her deepen them.

Vlad stepped back from her just a fraction so he could rest his forehead against hers. Erin's eyes were still closed as she fought for her breathing to return to normal. Vlad was looking he never flushed from their kisses, he always looked the same. The only ever sign was his dishevelled hair and rumpled clothes, which were easy to straighten out.

"I promise I will find a way to get you out of this."

"I know."

She knew he would do his best, she never doubted it.

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Thomas paced around the small confines of the hotel, throwing scathing looks at his wife every now and again. Steph sat on the couch watching her husband; it was better to let him rant than trying to make him see reason straight away. Ryan had just been the same way, her throat clenched at the thought of her son.

"She thinks she's happy with that little 'boyfriend' of hers, and don't pretend that you don't think the same." Steph couldn't deny it, she'd got the suspicion they were more than they said they were. "He doesn't know anything about her destiny, he doesn't even fit into her life. If he was a vampire I'd stake him and that'd be the end of it."

"She likes him," She didn't want to acknowledge the emotion she saw in Erin's eyes when she looked at Vlad nor the one mirrored in his. "Just let her realise on her own that it won't work. His background and hers don't match, they'll never work."

Tom didn't seem to listen to his wife's reasoning, Erin never did things easily. "He's the reason she doesn't want to go back. She doesn't have a clue how many strings we pulled for her does she?"

He'd pulled a good number of strings but it had all been worth it.

Steph wanted to defend her daughter, "Maybe she's right, you know she was never cut out to be a slayer. She can't tell the difference between vampires and people. She's never been able to." Erin rarely came above bottom in her class, her heart just wasn't in slaying.

"Then she'll just have to learn!"

"Tom, you know Erin has always hated being a slayer…"

"She is our daughter, she will obey us. Our family name…"

"All you care about is our family name!" Steph yelled at him, "What happened to Claude won't be wiped out completely, training our daughter won't change that. Sending her back won't make her embrace it anymore."

"I can try, she's got another chance thanks to my contacts. She will be what I want her to be." That was it, it wasn't *their* decision it was *his*.

"You didn't…" Steph trailed off, horror striking her. He hadn't, not to her only daughter, he wouldn't be that cruel. "Please tell me you didn't..."

Tom didn't answer he stared at her with an unnerving blank expression.

His mind was made up and no one was going to change it.

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Thanks for reading._


	7. Its How It's Done

A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

_This chapter was going to be later but I thought it fitted better here…_

Chapter 7: Its How It's Done

Vlad looked down at Erin, she was fast asleep on him now. They'd come inside half an hour ago, she'd calmed down somewhat. The confrontation with her parents had clearly exhausted her so he'd just let her sleep. Erin would need her rest if she were to remain with them and fight her parents.

Carefully Vlad lifted her up, taking care not to jostle Erin as he gently lifted her head from his chest. He place one hand underneath her head and lowered her down do her head rested against the cushioned, green arm of the sofa.

He straightened her legs out before brushing his lips over her forehead. Erin muttered something before her lips quirked upwards at his gesture. Vlad grinned; he hadn't expected that reaction, he slowly brushed her hair from her eyes before straightening completely and moving away, not before letting his eyes linger on her sleeping form for a few more seconds.

"I don't trust them." Vlad whispered quietly to his family. "We have to do something. I'm not letting them take her if she doesn't want to go."

"They're right Vlad, we're not her legal guardians." Bertrand whispered to the younger vampire, taking care not to wake the former slayer, "They can take her if they want to. Until Erin's eighteen she hadn't got any rights in any world. It doesn't matter if she's your girlfriend." Bertrand had become an expert on breather and slayer law in recent months. He wouldn't admit it but he found it interesting.

"They have no right to tell her what she's supposed to be." Ingrid hissed defending Erin.

"Your destiny was to always become a vampire." The Count pointed out to both of his children.

"But you never decided that, just as you didn't decide that I would be Grand High Vampire, fate chose it." Vlad told them quietly. "When I was at the tribunal hearing they said her punishment was permanent. Unless she appealed then and there then her punishment would be permanent."

"How have they managed to undo it then?" Ingrid asked them quietly.

"I don't know." Neither did anyone else judging by the silence that followed. A grimace crossed Vlad's features as he realised there was someone who might be able to answer this. They didn't know anything about the slayer world they needed someone who had high authority and who knew all the ins and outs of their laws. There was only one person he could think of. "I know someone who might be able to help." He broached slowly.

"Who?" Bertrand asked, he didn't like this he didn't want Vlad putting himself in danger and knowing him he would just to save Erin.

"Jonno."

The name hit them like a ton of bricks, there wasn't as much anger between them as there once was considering the role Vlad had played in Eric Van Helsing's death but there was no way of knowing for certain that Vlad could trust him completely.

"I'll come with you." The Count offered, eager to defend his son. Vlad shook his head; it wasn't that he didn't appreciate his offer it was that he didn't really want to leave Erin on her own.

"I want you to stay here and look after Erin." Vlad's eyebrows rose as he spoke, showing that he wanted to make sure Erin remained safe from Bertrand and Ingrid.

"I'll go with Vlad." Ingrid offered, Vlad looked at her sceptically.

Vlad wasn't going to beat around the bush, Ingrid never offered out of the goodness of her heart.

"What do you want out of this?"

"I want to help Vlad." Ingrid told him sincerely, she honestly wanted to help. She always thought Erin had the freedom she never had and that had made her jealous of the young woman (although she'd never admit to it), finding out Erin was just as trapped as she was, made her want to help her out.

"If you stake me in the back…"

"I won't." Ingrid promised. "I want to help Erin."

Vlad studied her eyes, he didn't know for certain if she was telling the truth but he could handle his sister. He nodded slowly. "Go and get changed."

Ingrid smiled before vanishing from the room completely.

"Vlad?" Erin mumbled as she felt him brush against her. Her eyes fluttered open slowly.

"I need to do something." He muttered quietly.

Her eyes snapped open fully, his words having the effect of having a jug of cold water thrown over her.

"I'm coming…"

"I'll be fine." He promised her, kissing her lips chastely. "Get some sleep. I'm getting some answers about this whole thing."

"I need to come with you…"

"You always get sick when you fly, you can't be sick with your parents around." It wouldn't only make her easier to take from him. Erin always suffered from motion sickness when she was sped or flown anywhere, she always brought back the food she'd eaten and suffered from dizziness for hours or even days if flying was involved.

"Be careful." Erin told him, agreeing with him reluctantly.

"I will." He promised.

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Vlad landed inside the Guild's headquarters quietly. He hadn't aimed for anywhere that they might mistake him for being aggressive, so he'd aimed for the entrance. He'd been there before so he was free to enter.

"Come in." He whispered, and within moment his sister appeared at his side.

"Didn't think you were going to invite me in?" Vlad wouldn't say that he wasn't tempted…

Vlad answered instinctively, being slightly sarcastic. "You don't trust anyone do you?"

"Trust gets you slain." Ingrid answered automatically, Vlad nodded sadly he knew he could never trust Ingrid completely after the number of times she'd tried to kill him and Erin.

Immediately a number of stakes were withdrawn as soon as the initial shock of who he was vanished.

Vlad extended his arms in a peaceful gesture to the slayers trying to show he didn't mean them any harm.

He looked around before wincing as an offensive sound echoed in his ears.

A young slayer's arm flew out, the stake clutched in it. The stake went straight through the glass panel of the 'vamp alert' (who ever thought of that name needed to be bitten for sure). The glass crushed inwards on itself, the small fragments that clung to the now scratched stake dropped to the floor as it was withdrawn. Within moments of smashing the alarm a loud high-pitched siren began to echo, higher than the sound of a dog whistle. The slayers remained unaffected, as they couldn't hear it as it was above their hearing range. It was obviously designed to immobilise any vampire enemy.

Vlad clutched his hands over them, trying to block out the noise but had very little effect. He bent over slightly.

Slayer upon slayer entered the large, cold room. A mixture of slayer weapons being aimed directly at them. UV bombs, stakes, garlic gas, the list was endless.

"Vlad?" A surprised startle managed to penetrate Vlad's ears, Vlad glanced up to see a surprised Jonno looking at him in confusion. Surprisingly the only slayer who didn't have a weapon pointed at him. "What are you doing here?"

Vlad was forced to read his lips to understand what Jonno was asking, "I need to speak to you." Vlad ground out, the sound making his teeth chatter and fangs scream.

That made Jonno curious, but he understood in that moment why Vlad had appeared unannounced. Vlad didn't have any other way to contact him, they hadn't left him with a phone number or anything else of the sort.

"What about?"

Vlad glanced up again, his eyes watering. "The sound."

Jonno looked around, turning his had in various directions trying to work out what Vlad meant. "What sound?"

"The one giving us a migraine!" Ingrid yelled, pointing at the broken glass case.

Jonno looked sheepish and quickly darted towards it. He tried pulling the 'button' out of the glass to break the connection but there was a splinter from the stake the slayer had used jamming it in place, preventing him from breaking the connection.

Jonno let out a sigh and reached into his pocked pulling out a penknife.

"Can you hurry up before we go deaf?" Ingrid snapped at him.

"I'm hurrying." Jonno muttered as he began to 'saw' through the protective cowling to get at the wires.

"This can count as torture, I should be able to bite you for this…"

"Shut up Ingrid!" Vlad snapped at her and she immediately obeyed. He didn't want some trigger-happy slayer taking her words as her intentions and slaying them.

Jonno gave a triumphant cry as he reached the three wires. He tugged at them, loosening them enough to get his knife behind them before pulling at them with the sharp blade trying to cut them.

Eventually he managed to cut through them, breaking the circuit completely. Immediately the two vampires in front of him relaxed as the sound died out.

"Thanks." Vlad muttered as he straightened out, his ears were now burning and ringing. Ingrid tapped her muffle ears trying to hear properly again.

Jonno looked around seeing the slayers staring at him in complete confusion. "Get back to work!" He cried, "they won't harm us because of the truce." He reminded them. There were a few grumbled but they hesitantly began to file out. Jonno moved closer to the two vampires, his arms folded over his chest. "What do you want?"

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Vlad folded his arms over his chest as he finished relaying the events of the last twenty-four hours to them.

"Are you saying Erin's parents have found a way to get Erin's license back?" Mina looked at Vlad shocked.

Vlad was shocked Mina didn't seem to know. "You didn't know?"

"We haven't agreed to give her, her license back, it'd be up to me and Jonno." Mina told him, "If she wants it back I'm sorry but she missed her chance…"

Vlad cut her off before she could continue, "She doesn't want to rejoin."

"Erin hasn't done this, she's happy not being a slayer." Ingrid leaned against the unit, playing with a small petri dish.

Mina grabbed it off her before she could break it, they were currently studying how to make the stasis spray more permanent to try to stop vampires being tempted so easily. They'd been working on this for the last few months and they didn't want their work all being for nothing.

"If someone wanted her to have it back, how would they do it?" Ingrid asked them

"They'd have to go through someone with high level clearance."

"How many of you are there?" Vlad asked quietly.

"Four of us, and as its not Jonno or me doing it that leaves two people." Mina answered, a few minor things clicking into place in her mind.

Vlad wanted to make something very clear to them, "They're trying to force Erin into this, she really doesn't want it back. They're saying it's her 'destiny'."

"Another one." Jonno grinned tossing a look to his mother. Vlad and Ingrid looked at each other completely confused, "There are a number of families who say that it's their children's destiny to be a slayer, most agree but some do rebel. Usually we let them go." Jonno didn't want to hold them against their will, it was a loss but he wasn't going to force them to be slayers. The Guild was more effective with willing slayers.

"Because of what happened to Erin's brother they're more determined to make her a slayer, they won't change their minds." Vlad answered, Ingrid felt some guilt she was the one who'd turned Ryan but she knew Erin was going to be unhappy with her so called destiny either way.

"We've never met the Nobles so we don't know their contacts. I think we might be able to find some links." Mina answered, "If this is happening behind our backs then we need to stop it, it might be the first it might not be. We don't want unlisted slayers out there, its too dangerous to both kinds as they won't receive updates and new initiatives." If the truce fell through there would be retaliation on a scale larger than any of them could imagine.

Jonno nodded, he was grateful for Vlad deciding to ask them about it, to try and find out the truth from them. "You didn't have to come here, you could have dealt with it on your own." Jonno told him quietly.

"Erin is my girlfriend, I was at her hearing and her parents are slayers. I prefer to be upfront about it than go behind your backs, it affects both of our kinds. We need trust. Its how it's done." He shrugged lightly, he did what his conscience demanded.

He wasn't going to open a can of worms by going behind their backs.

"Thanks." Jonno was grateful. "Leave it with me Vlad."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	8. Soldiers Not Children

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

Thank you for letting me know what you'd like to see; I'm at the moment trying to incorporate them in.

_If anyone would like to see anything else please let me know and I'll try to fit it in._

Chapter 8: Soldiers Not Children

Stephanie Noble glared at her husband as he drove their black Nissan Qashqai. She couldn't believe that he would be that cold and unfeeling to do that to her daughter, this wasn't the middle ages. Their children had a right to choose their own future; even vampires had more luxury than what he was prepared to give his daughter.

"I can't believe you did it." She whispered for the umpteenth time since working out what he'd agree to. Steph stamped her foot, creating a loud bang that echoed around the interior of the car. "You were supposed to wait until she turned twenty one!"

"I did and it'll happen." Tom threw the phone to his wife. "Tell Harty I'll sign the contract tomorrow when we get her from here."

"Its three years too early!" Steph tried to protest to her husband again.

"She'll do what I want, the contract will make sure she sticks to her destiny." Steph felt sick it was as if he was selling her daughter's soul to the devil.

The contract was binding and Erin wouldn't be able to escape it at all. Once the contract was signed he'd fulfilled the two conditions he'd agreed to, getting her back into the Academy was only one of them.

"This isn't fair on her." Steph protested, this wasn't right what he'd agreed to. "You can't throw that into the bargain. She's not ready to…"

Tom cut her off. His daughter was old enough to act like a true slayer. "She's ready to accept her responsibilities."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"When she's as far away from here as possible."

"Are you going to tell her before you sign the contract?" She knew it was pointless to ask but she thought she'd try.

He avoided that question. "Just call Harty at tell him I'll sign it tomorrow."

Steph nodded and dialled the number, her fingers shaking as she tapped the touch screen. It rang three times, three times before being picked up.

"Tom says he'll sign the contract tomorrow." She spoke

"_She'll have her license back when the two conditions have been completed."_ The man's voice was gruff as he spoke. It was like a simple business transaction.

Steph's answer was shaky, she forced her words out. "She's got no choice."

And Erin never would once it was signed.

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Erin stretched before standing, feeling her bones crick back into place. Erin rubbed her neck, her coffin was far more comfortable than the couch – which was something she'd never expected to think.

She let her eyes trail around the room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. She panicked at first thinking her parents had kidnapped her and taken her way fro the school while she was asleep. She began to relax as she recognised the blood cabinet in the room, remembering that the Draculas had tidied up the school.

Erin rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she still felt tired but she felt more relaxed. She moved across the room preparing for the smooth bases of her shoes to squeak against the floor as she moved, surprisingly they didn't. She leaned back over the sofa and straightened out the cushions.

Vlad pressed a small kiss to Erin's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. Erin jumped; Vlad had never done that before.

"You're back." She smiled at him turning in his arms. Vlad nodded, leaning down he kissed her slowly.

Erin pulled back, her brow furrowing slightly as she looked at him. She thought he was, the material felt different. She'd only ever felt the material of these clothes once.

"You haven't changed." She looked him up and down looking at his traditional vampire attire. The leather changed his appearance completely; it always seemed to make him more confident. With a smile she realised how he'd been able to bend down to kiss her easily, when his top button was don up he had to move his entire body to bend down as the tight collar kept his head in a rigid position, he'd unzipped his jacket three quarters of the way down exposing his black t-shirt underneath.

Erin traced the ribbing with her fingers, enjoying the feel of the pattern beneath her fingers.

"Only just go back." Erin looked behind her, he was right. The dawn was just beginning to break on the horizon.

"Where did you go?" She asked him lifting her fingers from the ribbing and linking their fingers together.

Vlad's eyes took on a slightly darker look, "The Slayer HQ." He admitted quietly doing his best not to look at her.

"On your own?" She couldn't believe Vlad had honestly been that stupid. "What if they'd…" Vlad pressed a finger to her lips cutting her off.

"I'm fine, anyway I went with Ingrid…"

"Ingrid!" That had to be one of Vlad's most stupid decisions ever, Ingrid was known for stirring trouble, not solving it. "How did you escape…"

"We didn't need to escape, we're fine." He promised her, Erin studied him closely trying to work out whether he was telling her the truth or not. "I went to see Jonno." He told her before she asked. "He's got no record of your license being returned to you, or any intention of it."

"So how are they going to do it?"

Licenses had to be agreed by the Guild, they couldn't be handed out randomly or forged. They must be going through someone to be able to do it.

"Jonno promised he'd look into it." He told her gently, Jonno would do as he asked. Jonno was trustworthy in that way, he always followed through with his promises. "He said you won't get it back because of the charges."

Erin gave him a relieved smile, "Good."

"If there's someone handing out licenses then he needs to find out who it is and stop them. You won't be in trouble for it."

Erin heard floorboards beginning to creak along the hallway and grabbed Vlad spinning him around quickly, she was rough as she turned him. Usually Vlad was too strong to be forced around but with her his guards always dropped.

"What…" He began to question what she was doing but before she could finish she'd yanked his jacket over his head, his shirt rode up slightly exposing the pale skin of his waist to her eyes. She hadn't had time to undo his zip.

Vlad automatically ran a hand through his hair trying to straighten it our as he heard the door handle creak downwards slowly.

They were early – obviously they were trying to catch them off guard.

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"Mr and Mrs Noble." Vlad greeted cordially as soon as he saw the door open. They glared at him, seeing the way he stepped away from Erin just a little too quickly.

That action sent all thoughts of actually talking to the family out of Thomas' mind. He wasn't going to stand for this young man to always be sniffing around his daughter.

"Can we drop the act? He's your boyfriend isn't he?" Erin glanced at Vlad he didn't show an ounce of expression.

Her parents (or rather her dad) were clearly going in with all guns blazing weren't they?

"I don't see that it's any of your business." Erin answered automatically.

"You're welfare is our business." Thomas snapped at her, a more pressing question coming to his mind seeing the young man's jacket in Erin's hands and the slightly dishevelled state of hiss t-shirt. "Have you slept with him?"

Erin flushed at the accusation; she opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to answer the question. "She hasn't." Vlad answered for her, angry that they'd dared to ask them that publicly. Erin gave him an apologetic look she'd never considered her father would ask *that*.

"You mean she hasn't bowed down to your pressuring her yet?" Thomas corrected him; he looked at Erin with disgust as if she was tainted in some way. "Or have you and you're trying to protect her honour."

Vlad stepped forward, blackening his name was one thing but for her own father to accuse her and insult her was another.

"My son would never pressure your daughter into anything." The Count hated any slur on their name. It was one aspect of their culture vampires prided themselves on. They were very traditional in their relationships.

Tom scoffed, shaking his head and gripping his stake instinctively even though he thought it wouldn't hurt them. "How do you know?"

"Because I know your daughter and my son well enough to trust them."

Tom shook his head, Mr Count had no idea what was going on under his own roof. "They live together!"

"They live in the same school not in the same room, along with my daughter, Vlad's tutor, my servant and my ward." There was no way Vlad and Erin could be considered as 'living together' in the way that was applied.

"I have your word Erin and Vlad haven't…" Steph gulped she'd never felt comfortable in speaking about this, "Shared a bed in that way." Even phrasing it as delicately as possible still made her blush.

"Never." The Count promised her and the young couple in question shook their head emphatically backing up his statement.

Steph relaxed instantly but Thomas didn't however he would drop the subject…for now.

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There was another topic that needed to be mentioned. The atmosphere was already tense so asking wouldn't harm anything.

"What were the charges Erin?" Thomas asked her, he wanted an answer. They hadn't been told anything, the charges were bound in confidentiality, he wouldn't find out anytime soon. The slayers didn't have the same 'Freedom of Information Act' that humans had. They had the Slayer Secrecy Act (SSA). Once something was marked secret then there was no way that anyone with anything other than top-level security could find out about.

Ironically it had been the Nobles who'd campaigned for the SSA (Slayer Secrecy Act) after the incident involving Claude Noble, unfortunately it had been put into place after the inquiry into the Grindoa Massacre had been completed.

"I'm not allowed to say." She was using slayer law against them.

"We're your parents." Steph protested, she was just as curious to find out what she had done to get thrown out of the Guild. "Vlad can tell us…" She smiled sweetly at Vlad.

Vlad didn't have to answer he was obeying the law of the hearing he'd witnessed and there was no on in his culture that could force him to answer as he was the most powerful vampire in existence.

"I know your laws as well as my own." He answered cryptically watching how Steph's face dropped, he wasn't going to give her any new information.

"We'll find out." Thomas warned her, he would find out one way or another.

"Then that's what you'll have to do." Erin told him, looking him directly in the eye.

"I know you betrayed the Guild."

Erin shrugged, "Then that's all you need to know." Every charge related to betraying the Guild, she was glad they didn't know the real charges. Vlad's family would be in danger if they did. "I'm glad I'm out of it and there's nothing you can do to change that." Erin stood and moved out of their way.

"You're wrong about that Erin. I have pulled too many strings to get your license back for you young lady, you will be returning to that academy Monday morning and redoing your exams." That was *one* of the two conditions for Erin to get her slayers' license back. 

"I'll fail them!" Erin shouted as a warning, she knew if she didn't pass them she wouldn't be a slayer. Erin wouldn't study at all for them, she'd barely managed to scrape through last time and she'd studied then. This time she'd deliberately write the wrong answers.

Thomas' jaw clenched, she was desperate to defy him at every turn and that latest stunt would embarrass their family even more. It was embarrassing enough last time when her results had been published in Slayer Weekly as every graduating slayer's had been for the last two centuries.

"You fail them and I swear Erin you'll regret ever being born." 

"More than I do everyday?" She snarled, she hated her life as a slayer, it was only being with Vlad and his family that had made her actually enjoy living. Granted they had tried to kill her but they'd never expected her to be anything more than what she already was. For the first time in her life, especially over the last few weeks, she'd felt comfortable being who she was. "You only married mum because you needed the Nobles to live on, you treat us more like soldiers than your children."

"Erin…" Steph began, she didn't want her daughter bringing this up around strangers. It wasn't one of their family's proudest moments.

"Are you really telling me you loved him when you married him?" Erin looked pointedly at her mother. Steph looked away. "Even vampires care about their children."

Ingrid went to cough and object but Vlad shot her a look that told her to keep quiet or else. She wasn't going to blow her cover by protesting. If they thought she knew too much about vampires alarm bells would ring.

Thomas' eyes softened as he looked at her daughter, "I do care about you."

"But you don't love me." Erin answered a few tears coming to her eyes.

Thomas looked at Erin, "I *do* love you Erin, you're my daughter." He did love her but he needed to push her and make her stronger, this was about more than his love for her.

"Then let me stay with Vlad, let me stay here and not be a slayer." She pleaded, gripping Vlad's signet ring through her blouse reminding herself of Vlad's promise to protect her – she didn't want him to have to step in just yet. Vlad pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her tightly holding her tightly as a few tears made their way down her face.

Tom shook his head; Erin didn't understand her importance to their family's honour. "I can't let you stay here Erin, and it's not your destiny to be a normal human with this human boy."

Then something happened that made things even worse…

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Thanks for reading._


	9. Truth

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_This storyline has been brewing since the Truth and Consequences saga, I just was never sure how to write it…until a flash of inspiration a week ago._

_I hope I haven't disappointed anyone with the way I'm handling it._

Chapter 9: Truth

Vlad suddenly stiffened, his head snapping towards the door. He hadn't noticed it before, but he had been away most of the night. Erin pulled back, her eyes wet. She knew there was something wrong.

Ingrid looked at him the same concern and panic on her face. She knew it too.

"You should have told me." He hissed at his father. The Count looked at Bertrand in confusion.

The Count was confused. "Told you what?"

If the Count didn't know then it really was time to start panicking.

Vlad grabbed Erin's hand and pulled her from the room, Ingrid followed him close behind. As soon as they were through the door Vlad closed it as fast as he could.

"Vlad what…"

Vlad crossed his arms over his chest, his face full of thunder. He only just managed to restrain the side effect of thunder and lightening in the background. "You were supposed to be staying away from her." Vlad addressed the person in front of them, Ingrid nodded in full agreement. "I don't know when you got here but you need to go."

"I arrived in the night." He answered, before looking down at Erin. "They're my parents too."

"You can't stay." Vlad told him angrily, "Erin's in enough danger…"

Ryan was very casual about it, "She chose to betray the Guild." If he was still a slayer like he was supposed to be he'd have reacted the same way to her as they did.

Vlad grew angrier at Ryan's flippant comment, this time a rumble of thunder followed. "And two of the charges were for saving you if you remember."

"She didn't save me, I still became one of you."

"If they see you they'll slay you and take Erin." Ingrid told him firmly, she didn't want a battle. Besides she couldn't fight them in what she was wearing.

"I'm not afraid of them." Ryan looked down at his sister, a faint smile on his lips. "They can't stop me anymore."

"Think about your sister!" Vlad shook his head, his hands clenching in fury as he looked at him.

"They won't hurt her." Ryan grinned, "She's their destiny now." Erin shuddered at the way her brother spoke; she'd forgotten he'd been as keen about their destiny as slayers as their parents. Although towards the end he'd begun to see things her way.

Erin moved closer trying to touch him but Ryan jumped back out of her way. "Ryan please, they can't see you…"

Ryan shoved her to one side with slightly more force than he intended. She stumbled into Vlad, Vlad caught her easily as Ryan opened the door and walked inside.

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"What part of 'go' didn't you understand?" Vlad snarled at Ryan following him through the door.

"What is *he* doing here?" Thomas snapped angrily seeing his former son standing amongst the young Count siblings.

Ryan looked at his father, an ironic grin covering his lips, "Hey Dad." His eyes softened briefly, "Mum."

Steph nodded acknowledging him even if she couldn't speak. She had missed Ryan, she'd wanted to see him for so long.

"Ryan GO." Vlad ordered him firmly, gesturing with his arm towards the window.

"You're not my master yet Dracula." Ryan hissed at Vlad, Vlad's eyes narrowed blackening at Erin's brother's comment. Ryan stepped back away from Vlad. His attitude would need to change before his crowning; Ryan wouldn't get away with it afterwards.

Ingrid wasn't sure if she should intervene, if she did then the Nobles would know it was her who bit their son.

"Ryan please, you're making things worse." Erin begged him, their parents probably had already put two and two together with Vlad's clan name being mentioned.

Ryan's eyes softened significantly. "You're my sister." Then his face hardened, "I'm still your brother and it's about time they realised that.

"This is the last thing Erin needs." Vlad spat at Ryan. Ryan didn't seem to listen to Vlad he kept his eyes fixed on his parents. "Ingrid…" Vlad asked with a small sigh.

Ingrid searched Vlad's eyes trying to see if she'd interpreted his request correctly. He nodded to tell her it was what he wanted. She was the only one who could command him to leave. "RYAN…"

Before Ingrid could finish Vlad caught sight of something being thrown through the air aimed directly at Ryan but not before it clipped Ingrid.

With a furious wave of his hand the stake cracked and exploded in mid air sending splinters flying in all directions.

He'd had no choice.

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Everyone stared at Vlad after his necessary display of power. He'd have preferred not to use it but there had been no other way to save Ingrid and its target Ryan.

His hand was still raised in position from using his powers. His face was restrained and blank, slight concentration clear. Erin knew he didn't have to use much concentration with unmoving objects but moving ones were still a challenge.

"Dracula." Thomas ground out, looking between them all. "As in the Chosen One Dracula?" He stared at his daughter; he couldn't believe she would have gone to these lengths to defy him.

"Leave Vlad alone Dad." Erin stepped in front of Vlad, this time she was the one protecting him.

Ryan immediately looked sheepish, "He didn't know you were vampires?"

Erin punched her brother as hard as she could in the shoulder; Ryan winced at her force he'd forgotten Erin could throw a punch. Pain raced up her arm but it was worth it. "No he didn't."

Ryan stepped backwards trying to disappear completely.

The Nobles faces were frozen in a horrified expression, it was all true. Erin had been living with vampires. Every single rumour was true. He just didn't know for certain which vampires she'd been living with. He certainly hadn't expected it to be the most powerful clan in the vampire world. He felt sick looking at her.

She'd betrayed everything the slayers stood for, her disgrace was worse than Claude Noble's could ever be on their family.

Tom Noble turned a violet shade of puce, as he looked them up and down. This was why she'd been kicked out of the Guild, it all centred on this one family.

"My daughter is living with the Draculas?" Thomas asked again, looking between them. Vlad wrapped his arm around Erin's stomach holding her close to him. "The same ones that turned him?" He gestured to his son, although he didn't look at him once. "Get away from him Erin." Erin placed her hands on top of Vlad's; they both stepped backwards further away from her father.

Erin shook her head, "No." He wasn't going to order her around this way.

"You're disgusting!" He barked at her, "Dating something so evil! They took your brother from us."

"Vlad's not evil and Ryan's right here."

Tom shook his head, Steph nodding fiercely. "All vampires are evil." He glanced between them all, "You betrayed the Guild for these bloodsuckers!" He couldn't believe it. "They're just using you."

"I will do it again if it's what has to be done to save Vlad and his family." Erin told them, "Vlad's the reason the truce exists, he's the future Grand High Vampire."

"And you think his kind will accept a slayer as his mistress, because that's all you'll be when he marries one of his own." Her father liked to be blunt with the truth, he liked to try and shock people into submission. He hadn't counted on Vlad's reactions being quicker.

Vlad let out a hiss, "Erin will never be my mistress." He paused briefly, "If we ever get that far she'd become my equal." He didn't know how Ingrid felt about that but he was prepared to weather the storm either way. He was surprised that Ingrid hadn't protested immediately.

Tom bit back a knowing smirk; it chilled them all to the bone. "Don't worry, it won't." He knew something they didn't; Vlad felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up for the second time since meeting her parents.

Erin caught her mother's gaze and saw the immediate green that her mother's face was turning. Erin supposed it was from Vlad's admission.

Tom prepared to step forward to grab Erin from the vampire's grasp.

"Don't touch her." Vlad's voice boomed across the room, one of the light bulbs exploded as the air was charged with electricity.

Steph jumped, she'd heard stories of the power of the Chosen One but she'd never thought he'd be so powerful. He hadn't even shattered the bulb deliberately.

"You're letting a slayer live with you, even though she's trained to kill you?" No one missed how she didn't imply that Erin wanted to kill them.

Vlad shrugged, "I trust her." He trusted her more than he'd trusted anyone in his life.

The Count moved forward, "We all trust her." Erin wouldn't harm them; she could never kill a slayer intentionally, besides her feelings for Vlad were too strong.

Erin looked them in the eye, it would be painful for them to hear but they were going to hear it. "I will never harm a vampire, especially not Vlad's clan."

Tom let out a roar at her words.

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Thomas charged at Vlad but Vlad ducked out of the way the other members of his family dodging them as quickly as possible. Ingrid grabbed Erin's arm and pulled her out of the direct line of fire.

He aimed towards Vlad again, throwing out his arm trying to grab the future Grand High Vampire. He managed to grasp Vlad's shirt making it hike up, exposing his stomach.

Vlad grabbed his wrist and twisted his hand away from his shirt, pushing him back. Tom stumbled at the easy way that Vlad had made him relinquish his hold on him.

He took a large step towards Vlad, he moved slightly back and to the side and within movement they were circling each other liked lions in a cage.

Tom reached for his stake, forgetting that he'd already thrown it and that it was little more than splinters they were walking over.

He didn't know how he'd slay him but he would.

He aimed at Vlad again, trying to land a blow but Vlad jumped backwards. Vlad didn't want to risk attacking him physically in case he told the Guild he'd attacked him deliberately.

"Fight." Thomas demanded, he needed an excuse to slay him. He needed a defence for the Slayers Guild when they asked why he'd slain the future Grand High Vampire. He was breaking the honour of the slayers attacking him in the first place.

"No." Vlad snapped back at him.

He remembered he did have a weapon; it was standard issue for slayers. The needed it to sharpen their stakes in the field – a penknife.

Thomas whipped it out as fast as he could, flicking the blade attachment around as quickly as he could.

Vlad paused and Erin gasped, Thomas Noble really was desperate, Vlad had forgotten that all slayers carried penknives with them. He knew it wouldn't slay him but it would leave a mark if he were caught by it.

Thomas hurtled towards him again, knocking Vlad to the ground this time. He tried to pin Vlad to the ground, grabbing his arms but Vlad was stronger than him without even tapping into his powers. The training with Bertrand had made him more muscular than before.

Vlad kicked his legs upwards, throwing Thomas into the air. The older man let out a startled cry his hands instinctively being thrown out preparing for his landing, the knife pointing downwards.

Vlad managed to role before gravity helped Thomas return to the ground, but not before he caught the blade of the knife.

Vlad felt the knife cut through his t-shirt leaving a gash. It hadn't broken his skin not that he would have bled. It wouldn't have done any damage to him at all; it would if he wasn't fully transformed.

Thomas gasped in pain rolling away from Vlad; he was winded from the vampire's defence. It was clear Vlad wouldn't harm him, he would only defend himself. The vampire was smarter than he gave him credit for.

Thomas saw his chance and launched himself towards Ingrid, he grabbed the older vampire and pulled her with him, he pressed the blade to her side. He didn't pierce her skin he just held it there.

"This won't turn her to dust but do you want to see your sister hurt?" He quizzed Vlad.

Vlad reacted instinctively, he'd threatened Ingrid.

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Thomas' eyes widened a fraction of a second before he came into contact with the panelling in the room.

The pen knife buried itself up to the handle in the wood, it as wedged firmly that it wouldn't be able to be pulled out by a mere mortal man.

Normal vampires couldn't do that. He'd forgotten what Vlad was in the midst of the fight. He felt as if his chest was being crushed as he tried to breathe, he couldn't get his chest to rise to intake the oxygen his body needed.

Seeing the fierce growl on Vlad's face he knew the vampire wasn't holding back.

Vlad's fangs snapped down, his eyes turning red before becoming the most violent shade of black.

"Stop please!" Steph yelled at Vlad as he let his evil side take over. Vlad ignored her, his lip curling upwards. "Erin do something!"

Vlad's grip tightened around Thomas, until he was fighting to breathe.

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	10. Hypnotism

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_I'd like your opinion; someone asked me if I'd turn Erin again and I'm not sure if it's what a lot of people would like to see happen._

_Should I turn her or should I leave her mortal?_

Chapter 10: Hypnotism

"Vlad, no." Erin told him quietly, placing a hand on his chest. "Its not worth it." Vlad automatically retracted his fangs looking down at her. He nodded slowly stepping backwards.

"Sorry." He whispered, he'd felt the power surge through him. For the first time he felt pure hatred towards the slayers.

"Its okay." She whispered quietly, she was no longer scared when she was reminded visually of what he was. Vlad could never bite her even when he was actually after her blood.

Immediately her father felt to the ground, he clutched at his throat feeling Vlad's phantom grip on him. He coughed and fought for his breath, gasping as he tried to fill his lungs with the oxygen he needed. Erin knew her father shouldn't have pushed him. He really didn't know what Vlad was capable of and that small demonstration of power was nothing compared to what he was truly able to do.

Steph tried to help her husband stand but he shrugged her off, he could cope with what had happened. He didn't need her help.

Steph moved backwards her whole body shaking, fear was in her eyes as she spoke, "Has he bitten you?" One child was bad enough but two was going too far.

"No." Erin's tone was slightly lower as she spoke although she wasn't quite sure why, almost as if she was disappointed. "Vlad will never bite me."

Steph seemed surprised at this, "Never?" She questioned again watching as Vlad shook his head.

Erin ran her hand up and down Vlad's arm. "He doesn't drink blood."

Steph looked at Vlad completely confused, she'd never known a vampire to be 'vegetarian'. It was impossible. "Don't lie to us Erin."

"I'm not lying." She screamed at them, they always thought she was lying to them.

"You honestly haven't seen him drink blood?" Tom laughed at her, "Or is your memory that…" He trailed off as a thought crossed his mind, there was only one way she would forget. "He hypnotised you! That's why you gave up your life as a slayer." Everything seemed to click into place, Erin had never been able to defy him before, so the vampire must have had something to do with it.

Vlad scoffed at the same time as Erin and the rest of his family. "Yeah right." Ingrid muttered laughing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tom glared at Ingrid. He was furious that she'd dared contradict him although he shouldn't have expected less from a vampire.

"Like Vlad could hypnotise Erin." The thought nearly had her crying she found it that funny.

Tom's face had a grin growing on it, "He doesn't know how to? A vampire that can't hypnotise?" He seemed to find it amusing, a vampire who didn't have control over his most basic powers.

Erin's face had a gentle smile on it as Vlad looked down, "You can't hypnotise me?" She asked him, cupping his cheek and lifting his head up.

Vlad looked away, before reluctantly meeting her eyes. "No I can't."

"Are you sure?" She pressed wanting to make sure.

"You're actually encouraging him to hypnotise you?" Thomas yelled at her. Erin ignored him completely.

"I can't hypnotise you even if I wanted to." He whispered gently to her, he pressed his forehead against hers. Erin closed her eyes and smiled as she let his words wash over her, she knew exactly what he meant.

She linked her arms around his neck, moving closer to him, Vlad instinctively grasped her hips tightly.

"Me too." She whispered to him, his eyes snapped open to look at her curiously and she nodded blushing slightly. Vlad smiled at her before closing his eyes again.

They didn't want to say the actual words, not in front of her parents; they felt it would diminish them slightly. They would wait until they could actual say them properly to each other in a setting that wasn't full of desperation.

Steph looked between them, seeing the tender look on her daughter's face and the one reflected on the young vampire's. It made Tom's decision and his so called contract even harder to bear. "What exactly does this mean?"

"Vampires can't hypnotise anyone they're in love with." The Count tone was quiet as he spoke, it was something that they didn't weren't really willing to share with outsiders. It was a carefully kept secret within their world as vampires weren't supposed to feel this way.

They'd suspected Vlad felt this way but they'd never known for certain – until now.

Although considering the current situation they really wished that Vlad wasn't in love with Erin and that she didn't love him. It only made the situation more painful for both of them.

Their two different worlds were clashing and he didn't think there would be a happy outcome for the young couple.

Steph hadn't realised her daughter's feelings ran so deep for the future vampire leader, or that even his were equal to hers. The way the Count had told her the little known fact left her in no doubt that he was telling the truth. She'd never thought vampires could love but the exception was standing in front of her.

They put Romeo and Juliet to shame.

Tom coughed loudly drawing everyone's attention away from the couple to him; everyone's focus on Vlad and Erin had given him the distraction he needed.

Thomas waved something from side to side, clearly taking great pleasure in flaunting what he was holding.

"Erin or dust, your choice." He spoke tapping his fingers against the glass of the UV bomb.

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Mr Noble bounced the UV bomb in his hand; he wasn't taking care almost as if he wanted the grenade to smash. He stopped and held it tightly in his grip.

Vlad knew he couldn't call the grenade to him, Thomas' grip was too tight and it would break before it left his hand. Even if Thomas' grip slackened if he misjudged the calling of it towards him it could smash.

Thomas could see the helpless look on the vampire's face. He had a bargaining chip now, he didn't feel guilty for using Erin's feelings against her. "Come with me Erin and I'll let the vampire live…"

Erin knew what she had to do. She knew her parents too well to know that they weren't bluffing. Erin moved away from Vlad, she didn't have a choice. She would do anything to save him.

Vladimir grabbed her wrist pulling her back to him. "Erin, no." Vlad whispered to her, she couldn't let the Nobles win. Erin placed her hands on his chest, caressing it lightly beneath her fingers trying to soothe him.

He searched her eyes begging her not to go. She couldn't go back to the life she hated. She finally had a chance to escape, his unlife wasn't worth it.

"I can't let him kill you." She whispered answering him. There was no way they would survive the UV grenade if it was dropped, it would be too close to them for them to escape the room in time.

"He'll do it." She told him, glancing at her father. "He'll slay you all, he doesn't care about the treaty."

Vlad looked over her head and her father nodded agreeing with her every word.

"I don't care." He answered her; he wasn't going to let her father hurt her emotionally again.

Erin traced a hand along the side of his face playing with the strand of hair that never stayed in the same place. "I do. The vampires need you Vlad, I can't take you away from them."

The vampires needed Vlad to survive, without him the slayers would wipe his kind out completely.

Vlad eyes burned as he looked at her, he wouldn't be able to do this. "And I can't lose you."

"This way I don't lose you." She answered, tears glistening in her eyes. She couldn't be the cause of his death, she couldn't bear it. "Let me protect you this time." Vlad loved her and that gave her the strength to do this.

Erin grabbed his hand and placed it on top of his signet ring that was under her shirt. She placed her hand over his and squeezed his fingers lightly.

"_I'll find a way."_ He whispered into her mind, he wasn't sure if it would work on her. This had never been tried on a human before, they weren't capable of telepathy.

Erin answered the only way she could. "I know."

Vlad felt his lips quirk slightly, she had heard him.

Her gaze met his once again and they lasted a whole two seconds.

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Vlad grabbed her head and pulled her to him as fast as possible, pressing his lips against hers frantically. He ran his fingers through her hair before tangling his fingers in it firmly.

Erin's hands fisted in his black shirt, feeling the soft cotton between her fingers as she kissed him back just as urgently, raising herself onto her toes.

The young vampire slanted his mouth over hers deepening the kiss. Their teeth bumped a few times in their desperation. Their tongues battled fiercely for dominance, trying to show how they felt for each other in those precious few moments.

He would find her and he would deal with this. She wouldn't be forced into something she didn't want again.

Erin slipped her hand down to her shirt pocket, withdrawing something before lifting her hand back to his chest. She trailed her hand down his side and to the back of his waistband. His leather trousers didn't have pockets. Erin lifted the back of his shirt.

Ingrid hid a smile as she watched Erin slip something into his waistband. She didn't know what it was but she had a feeling Erin was taking a chance to give it to him.

Erin was yanked backwards violently by the scruff of her neck, forcing the kiss to be broken. Vlad went to grab her but her father shoved her backwards and into her mother's arms. Steph held her tightly checking her over as if Vlad had hurt her. Erin tried to pull free but she couldn't, where her mother had gripped her made certain she remained still.

"You're coming with us." Tom shouted at her. Erin flinched at his tone.

Steph handed Erin a tissue, "Scrub your mouth." She told her firmly before her husband could, not expecting her to obey.

"No." Erin snarled at her, she wasn't going to wipe all traces of Vlad from her. He wasn't like chocolate around a child's mouth.

"Fine." She answered.

Vlad's gaze snapped to Erin, he would find her. Erin nodded slowly understanding immediately. His face told her everything she needed to know.

Steph shoved her out of the door as fast as she could before the vampires could retaliate on them.

Vlad went to follow her but Thomas' threw the grenade up before catching quickly as gravity took over. He was warning Vlad. Vlad felt helpless, he hadn't felt this way since the first time he'd worn that stupid crown.

Tom Noble moved towards the door, never taking his eyes off the vampires. He didn't trust them not to attack them while his back was turned, not that he knew it was against Vlad's code of honour.

He slowly drew his arm back behind him feeling the cold brass handle of the door/

Thomas pulled the door to slowly, grinning widely at Vlad. He'd won.

He looked at the grenade in his hand, smiling viciously at Vlad before slamming it downwards towards the ground as fast as he could.

Erin heard the smash and spun around. Her heart stopping in pure terror.

Bright purple light flickered violently under the gap at the bottom of the door.

"VLAD!"

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Should I turn Erin or leave her mortal?_

_Thanks for reading._


	11. Note

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Sorry it's late, we've had a minor power cut where I live. The power has only just come back on. I had this finished for 9pm as well!_

_Thank you everyone for bearing with me while I waited for the power to come back on to post._

Chapter 11: Note

Vlad saw the grenade falling; his reflexes were faster than Tom's. He honestly didn't think that Tom would let him live after taking Erin.

Vlad looked around the room trying to find a way to stop the grenade. He would never call it to him without it smashing, there were too many obstacles in its way it would smash the second it hit one of them.

Obstacles.

That gave him an idea.

Vlad flung his hand out and immediately the large table flew though the air, it landed table surface against the door with a bang at a forty-five degree angle, he was lucky the antique frame didn't break in half.

The smash of the grenade followed a millisecond later, releasing its deadly contents.

He'd only just acted in time.

The angle of the table deflected the purple blast, towards the west and east walls and safely away from them. It acted as a shield. The UV light couldn't penetrate the mahogany of the table.

The vampires threw their hands over their eyes, turning away to shield themselves. The UV light could still blind them if they left them unprotected.

"VLAD!" He heard Erin's scream then a scuffle on the other side of the door. He knew they were trying to drag her away from the building as fast as they could.

He couldn't' do anything about it until the weapon had been completely depleted.

The rays seemed to expand and stretch on forever, this was more powerful than the one Ingrid had given her vampette to slay Vlad. Obviously the Guild had focused on enhancing this aspect of weaponry as well.

The second the UV light dissipated, Vlad acted.

He grabbed the table in his right hand and threw the table out of the way, with all of his strength.

It hit the south wall, amazingly it didn't break considering it forced the antique panelling covering the walls to cave inwards a significant distance. It just showed that there was nothing like a good quality table.

As soon as the doorway was unblocked he opened the door and raced off down the narrow corridor.

The Count looked at his favourite table, distraught at the state of it. It was a little wobbly now as the legs had loosened on the impact, a few large scratches were gouged into the surface but apart from that there was nothing else wrong with it. "Did he have to use this table?"

"Would you prefer to be dust?" Ingrid asked him angrily.

The Count shut up.

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Vlad had never sped so fast in his life. If he could fly outside he would have, he hated the fact he couldn't go out in the daylight.

The corridors seemed to stretch on forever. The floorboards cracked as he raced along them.

If his heart still beat he knew it would be racing. He felt sick at the thought of them taking Erin. He had to stop them.

A blonde head made him turn. "ERIN!" He yelled as he reached the first level of the foyer. Vlad's eyes were full of fear and heartbreak.

The Nobles stopped at looked up at him, Tom glance towards the door there were only a matter of feet from it, from the safety of the sunlight.

Erin glanced upwards, a smile covering her face as relief washed over her at seeing him safe. She should have known her dad would still try to slay Vlad, he was a slayer that's what he did.

Her dad growled and pulled on her harder, desperate to get her out of the way of the young vampire. Erin had relaxed seeing Vlad and wasn't prepared for the force her dad had used to get her to move. Erin stumbled, tripping over her own feet and fell to the floor, she cried out as her knees hit the cold stone jolting them. Her hands scraping along the cobbles drawing blood.

Thomas growled and grabbed the back of her shirt hoisting her up. He grabbed the necklace inadvertently and she felt the ring pressing against her throat. He prayed that he didn't see it.

Steph gave her daughter a pitied glance at seeing the injuries she'd sustained. Her father would never hurt her physically intentionally. Emotionally she wasn't so sure at the moment.

The fact that the vampire – the future vampire leader – had chased after their daughter tugged at her heartstrings. He wasn't like the others of his kind. He really loved her. A normal vampire would have just left her; he was frantic to follow her.

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Vlad weighted up his options, bracing his hands on either side of the door.

Their Nissan was parked in the brightest spot of the courtyard, it wasn't deliberate it was just that this courtyard always caught the morning sun. It wasn't that far from the foyer entrance but it was still in the direct sunlight.

He could do this, he'd survived before and that had been a greater distance with a locked door. Vlad stepped into the sunlight, he began to smoulder the moment the light hit him.

Erin shook her head unable to believe that he was being an idiot about sunlight again.

"Go back inside!" Erin screamed at him. "Vlad leave me." She didn't want him killing himself to save her, he'd only just survived by sheer dumb luck last time, of that she was convinced. "Please." She begged him.

Vlad stopped and saw her begging him, nothing would be achieved if he was killed trying to save her.

His hesitation was all her parents needed they bundled her into the back of the car and raced around to their respective sides climbing in quickly.

Erin turned herself to face him, watching as he was forced to speed inside.

He was safe, that was the main thing. She could deal with her parents – for now.

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Vlad's mood was black when he walked back into the throne room. His legs burned as he tried to walk, they would for another couple of hours until the skin healed. He hated sunlight.

He needed to hit something. He hit the wall as hard as he could, his hand sliding straight through the panelling. He withdrew his hand slowly, bringing the fractured wood out with him, he didn't care it had felt good.

"I'm sure you tried you best." The Count told his son, patting him on the shoulder.

Vlad bared his fangs and hissed, he rarely hissed when he displayed his fangs. The others in the room jumped back. "I'm not giving up." He snapped at them. "I promised her I'd protect her, and I'm going to protect her from them."

Vlad was startled as he felt something latch onto his leg. He looked down to see Wolfie hugging him tightly. Vlad's expression softened and he gently ran a hand through Wolfie's hair. His brother was trying to comfort him in the only way he knew how. It meant a lot.

Vlad looked up his momentarily gentle expression hardening significantly as he spotted the cause of the trouble.

"Get him out of my sight." Vlad yelled towards Ryan, Wolfie jumped and looked up at Vlad. His brother was terrifying when his voice deepened and thunder rolled. The fact Vlad did it rarely made it all that more intimidating when he actually did deepen his voice.

"I'll send him away…" Ingrid offered.

Vlad shook his head, "I'd rather know where he is, I juts want him out of my sight."

Ryan needed to apologise, he'd landed his sister in it. He'd only cared about his feelings nothing else. Now he had to bear the wrath of the Chosen One and Vlad had a very long memory. "Vlad I didn't know that they hadn't found out what you were."

Could Ryan really be this dense? Did he think he was only sent away so Erin could face her parent's alone? "Why do you think Ingrid sent you away? It was for your protection as much as Erin's."

"No one told me." Ryan whispered softly.

Vlad felt his anger deflate; this all came down to a break in communication. He couldn't stay mad at Ryan if no one had actually told him that they weren't going to scream that they were vampires from the top of the building.

Vlad didn't change his mind; with Ryan in the room he wouldn't be able to concentrate for long. Negative thoughts and feelings would build his evil side fed on those and if he wanted to get Erin safely away from her parents he couldn't risk it breaking through.

Ingrid spoke before Vlad could repeat his command, "Ryan its safer all of us if you get out of his sight – but don't you dare leave the school."

Ryan nodded, he couldn't disobey Ingrid, he only wanted to please her. He vanished from the room as fast as he could.

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Silence ruled over them for a few minutes, each unsure what to say to him. They were still trying to protest everything that had happened. Usually the Count would make a crack about Erin being from a slayer family but he couldn't bring himself to.

Making jokes about Erin being a slayer seemed bad taste after learning how she truly felt about it and what her family had just done.

Vlad was shaking; Ingrid gently pushed him down, disentangling Wolfie from him. Ingrid usually would have relished upsetting her brother over this just like last time, but she couldn't bring herself to this time. It would be too cruel.

Ingrid placed a hand on his shoulder; she knew Vlad found it difficult to be affectionate to Erin around his family (other than hand holding) so that had obviously taken its toll on him. Taking a chance she slipped her arm completely around his shoulder, rubbing his arm gently.

The last time she'd done this it was for her own gain, this time she only cared about her brother. She knew what it was like to love a mortal and worse lose them. Although she had a feeling that she might be recovering from that as her eyes lingered on a figure in the room before focusing back on Vlad.

Vlad's feelings were strong for Erin, he'd resisted the instinct to turn her to make her his. She admired him for putting Erin's life first instead of taking it like she'd done with Will.

She felt him slowly relaxing under her gentle touch.

"What did she give you?" Ingrid asked him quietly, trying to distract him.

Vlad hadn't had chance to look, he reached into his waistband and pulled out the object that he'd felt Erin slip into his waistband. He'd nearly jumped when he'd felt her warm fingers brush against the skin of his back.

He unfolded the object; it was an A6 sized piece of yellow paper folded into four. On it Erin had written in black ink. It was a note of some sort.

He squinted slightly preparing to read Erin's writing; Erin's spelling suffered being slightly dyslexic so it could be hard to read sometimes but he was used to it and he didn't mind. It was something that made her uniquely Erin.

The note was short, in fact only two words. There were six sets of information after that, if it could be called information. They were a jumbled mess of numbers and letters.

'_Think geography.'_

It was obviously code of some sort.

"What does that mean?" Ingrid asked him.

Vlad gave her a disgusted look. "I dropped geography if you remember."

Ingrid automatically protested, "You never told me."

Vlad closed his mouth; Ingrid hadn't been around when he'd dropped geography. It had been one of the sacrifices he'd made to begin training – this was training before Bertrand had come on the scene. The training had lasted about two weeks before the Count said he's make a 'hopeless Grand High Vampire', after that he'd just taken advantage of them, declaring them free periods.

"Sorry." He told her quietly, it wasn't fair that he should snap at her.

Bertrand looked over his shoulder, he thought he might recognise them but they weren't familiar at all. He never really had bothered with learning any aspect of breather education. He didn't think their education was worth it.

"Get the Guild here now!" Vlad almost shouted at Renfield. "Jonno might know what this means."

"Is that a good idea involving them, they might think she's betraying them again." Bertrand warned him, Erin had guts to take the punishment she was given and he grudgingly admired that about her.

"One of their kind has just attacked my family." Vlad answered simply, what they had just done was to deliberately go against the truce between the Guild and the vampires. "They'll have no choice."

He was summoning them in his right as the Chosen One.

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	12. Signed

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Thank you for all your opinions, I'm so grateful. _

_I love to hear feedback, it encourages me to try and make each new chapter (hopefully) better than the rest._

_I can easily adapt the storylines to match (I have a very active imagination – which can be worrying)._

_I'm going to start weaving in what people would like to see over the next few chapters after this one, although I have twisted one suggestion slightly but the main elements are still there..._

Chapter 12: Signed

Erin folded her arms petulantly in the back of the car. She didn't speak but she wasn't going to show weakness again.

She closed her eyes focusing on remembering everything she could about the Draculas and Garside Grange. She felt the ring weighing heavily against her chest. She didn't risk exposing it to her parents view; they'd take it from her.

She wished she could just close her eyes and wake up from this nightmare; she wanted to be back with the Draculas.

She had been scared about living with them at first but she'd quickly learned not to cross Bertrand as his attitude originated from an era when men got what they wanted, the same went for the Count. Ingrid she was suspicious of from the beginning besides the fact she'd bitten Ryan. Strangely enough she felt more comfortable living with people (yes people, she wasn't going to think of them as anything else) who could drain her before she could say 'blood', than she did with her own biological family.

She smiled as she thought about Vlad. He was hardly the confident, arrogant, violent, 'drain you as soon as look at you', merciless, smug Chosen One she'd been taught about. He was the complete opposite, granted his evil side had proved that but she knew who was in control (most of the time).

Erin knew he couldn't look for her before nightfall, she knew without a doubt he would look for her.

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Erin let out a gasp as she felt something enter her mind. _"I'll find you, I will do whatever I have to, to protect you."_ She smiled, as she knew exactly who it was. Erin wished she could contact him someway, tell him exactly where she was verbally but she couldn't. Her human mind wouldn't let her.

"What?" Tom snapped at her, turning around to look at her. He'd heard her gasp. Erin's smile quickly vanished.

Steph gripped the dashboard, her knuckles turning white. "TOM!" Steph shouted as the car swerved with his diverted attention.

The steering wheel was yanked back with force and they were all thrown back against the other side of the car.

Erin realised her Dad still wanted an answer, "My foot's gone to sleep." Erin covered shaking it slightly trying to make it look more believable.

He let out a disbelieving huff, she knew he didn't fully believe her but she had been prone to cramps and sleeping limbs when she was a child so he couldn't prove it either way.

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Her father pulled the car over to the side of the road with a jolt. Erin was flung against the window, thankful that she had her seatbelt on. Her parents climbed out before locking the doors leaving her trapped inside.

She noticed for the first time they were in a wooded area. There were green trees all around, firs, spruces and oaks. On their side of the cars there was about ten yards of grass

She thought it was ironic that she'd met Vlad here, she recognised the track. Yes it was definitely where she and Ingrid had broken down for the final time.

She knew from experience if she pulled on the latch to the unlocked position the doors still wouldn't open. Besides knowing them they'd have put the child safety lock on the doors especially for her.

She watched them out of the window; her mother was waving her arms about frantically, trying to get Tom to listen to her.

Erin knew it was pointless.

She turned as she heard something else. Another car was pulling up; it looked like a silver Mercedes. They'd obviously been waiting to meet with them.

Her eyes narrowed as she recognised who was getting out of the car.

She'd know him anywhere after all he'd been sitting on her tribunal panel.

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The car doors opened and Tom had a wide grin plastered across his face as he looked at his former mentor. This man had taught him everything he knew.

"Right on time." Tom greeted shaking George's hand. "Steph you remember George 'Harty' Hartleigh."

Steph fixed a tight smile as she looked at the other demon in this contract, "Of course." She shook his hand.

"I brought Andrew with me, I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." Tom smiled at him widely. He didn't mind Andrew coming along.

Andrew Hartleigh was tall and blonde. He was a handsome young man, older than Erin. He was in his mid twenties. He had a confident posture as he looked around the room. In their world he was a very sought after bachelor, he'd had a number of romantic liaisons. He was an experienced slayer with a significant number of kills under his belt.

George held out the contract for him. "It's all there." George glanced at Erin, she didn't have a clue what was about to happen to her.

Tom grabbed the contract from Hartleigh. He read through it, everything seemed to be in order. The two conditions were set out clearly that they had to obey.

"Its set for the day before his eighteenth birthday like you asked."

"Tom, please, don't do this." Steph begged him. "Once its signed you know she'll have to follow it through. This isn't the middle ages. Its not when the Guild was first formed. She has the right to choose."

Erin didn't have that right anymore, not after defying him and especially after not having a relationship with a vampire she was supposed to slay. "The contracts were created to make sure women stuck to their responsibilities. At least this way I know she'll have to accept her responsibilities."

Steph tried again, desperate to buy her daughter some time. "The contract isn't supposed to be enforced until she's twenty one."

"I can't wait around three years while she tries to get out of it." They knew this was coming from the day she was born, Erin knew it too but she'd always tried to deny it. They were happy to do this without any form of contract but she'd forced their hand.

Tom leaned down on the bonnet and spread the contract out, he signed it quickly before signing a duplicate copy, one to be kept by him and one to be kept by George.

It was now official. Erin was contractually bound to the two conditions by her father's consent.

"Get her out of the car."

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Erin pulled Vlad's signet ring from beneath her shirt. She slowly traced the intricate open winged dragon of his family's ancient crest. There were no diamonds or rubies on the crest like she'd seen on some of the Count's clothes and brooches. It was simple and didn't stand out – it was typically Vlad.

Erin wondered how he'd wear the ring when he turned eighteen. She knew they'd make him wear it and Vlad would probably concede knowing that they would make him wear something much flashier and gaudier.

Every adult vampire she met wore some kind of ring; it must be a coming of age thing.

She slipped the ring onto her middle finger on her right hand. The ring slipped back off almost immediately, it was too big for her but in that moment of wearing it she felt connected to Vlad.

She moved it about in the light, looking at how the sun as reflected on it. She could have laughed, her parents wouldn't have a clue what the ring meant, in his culture giving a signet ring or anything bearing a crest to someone was meant as a sign of protection. If they knew Vlad had given it to her they'd only assume the 'worst'.

She promised herself that Vlad would get the ring back personally.

She quickly shoved the ring back down her shirt as she heard the doors remotely unlock. Her door was flung open and her mother grabbed her arm.

Time to find out what they had been talking about.

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Erin was shoved into the clearing, but it was a gentle shove by her mother.

Erin recognised George Hartleigh from her tribunal. She sent him a dismissive scathing look. Now she knew why he was so confused when she'd refused to appeal her decision.

She was forced in front of her father, she resisted the urge to spit at him. She hated being manhandled, she hated being told what to do and more importantly she hated being kidnapped. Even Bertrand had treated her better than this, he'd been far more gentle as strange as that sounded.

"I've got the contract Erin for you to get your slayers' license back." Tom informed her gravely.

"So I have to go to the Academy, whatever." She shrugged, it could be worse.

"For two months then you'll fulfil the other condition." Tom told her fiercely. Her eyes snapped to his, she couldn't graduate in two months. It must have just been a refresher course but she had to take her exams. "After that has been completed you go back to the Academy."

Erin shook her head, she didn't understand she only thought she had to attend the Academy. "What other condition?"

"The one that happens when slayer women turn twenty one…" He trailed off watching his daughter's eyes widen in horror. "It happened to your mother, it'll happen to you." Erin felt as if someone had dropped a tone of bricks on her, she knew what he was talking about without a doubt. "Although for you it will be just before your precious boyfriend's birthday when he can't interfere."

That's where the two months came in; Vlad was eighteen in less than two months. He was older than her by three months, they couldn't wait until her eighteenth but she didn't think it would be that soon.

Tears glistened in her eyes, "Dad please don't…"

Tom tipped his head and stepped closer to her, her answer wouldn't make a difference now it was signed. "Will you slay the Draculas?" He asked her pointedly. Erin knew exactly what he meant, would she kill Vlad. Erin remained quiet she knew she couldn't.

"Mum…" Erin looked to Steph pleading her. Her dad couldn't do this to her, she was always promised her own choice. Name specific contracts were rarely used although it was an agreement amongst their kind that it had to happen by twenty-one.

Steph shook her head at her daughter, tears falling down her cheeks. "It's been signed, its too late Erin." Steph pressed her hands to her mouth, her head shaking slightly as she wasn't sure what to say.

Erin noticed for the first time the contract in her father's hand and the matching one in George's. Erin shook her head, tears sparkling in her eyes. There was no way out of this. It could only be contested if she had someone to support her over eighteen who wasn't a member of her family. Considering what they had done only Vlad could contest it. That's why they'd made sure it would be before his birthday. What they had done was perfectly legal in their world; they were backed up by the oldest of the Slayer Laws.

Andrew stepped forward into her view. Erin stepped further back, her legs wanting to give way. Now she would have to be a slayer, this was the ultimate commitment to being a slayer – continuing the lineage.

Steph spoke gently, forcing the words out of her mouth. They were the words she never wanted to say to Erin. "In just under two months…" Her mother looked away, unable to speak.

Tom took over, disgusted at his wife's weakness. "You're getting married Erin."

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_I couldn't resist…I did it in Truth and Consequences for Vlad (was that really last November?) I wanted to try it from Erin's POV._

_Thanks for reading._


	13. Ring

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Sorry for the posts again, having a little problem with my net after last night's power cut. It keeps cutting out. I'll hopefully be back to 9:30pm tomorrow._

_I couldn't resist tackling an arranged marriage from Erin's POV this time, I did Vlad's in Truth and Consequences. _

_A longer chapter…_

Chapter 13: Ring

Erin felt faint, she felt sick and she felt dizzy. They were entitled to do this by breather law as well; she could be married with parental consent before eighteen.

Vlad could object to it if he was eighteen when the wedding was taking place, that's why they'd deliberately set it for the day before. They'd fixed it to make sure she didn't have a choice.

Erin looked at Andrew, he would never touch her.

In the blink of an eye she turned on the spot and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

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Erin wished she'd thought this through as she raced through the trees. She could feel them close behind her.

She wasn't exactly wearing something that would help her blend in with the trees and in the middle of the day they'd see exactly where she was going.

The twigs snapped under her foot and the branches of the bushed tugged and tore at her clothes as she ran.

Something grabbed Erin around the waist, knocking her to the ground. She let out a startled cry as her shoulder impacted with the solid ground a moment before stars swam across her vision as her head hit the ground.

She looked up to see Andrew looking at her a smug grin on his face. She lifted her knee up and kneed him in the most painful place the man had.

She felt a smirk coming as his face paled as the pain kicked in and he froze over her. His hands immediately went to his groin. She shoved him and he rolled off her. He tried to grab her but failed. Erin scrambled to her feet, slipping and sliding on the leaves before running again.

She stumbled and tripped this time, the adrenalin having to pump through her veins once more. She felt winded but she had to keep running.

She paused her hand against the rough bark, bracing herself trying to get some breath back in her lungs. Her legs were burning no, she wished she had Vlad's powers.

Erin felt something hit her shoulder and she lost control of her legs. They immediately became numb. They crumbled underneath her like jelly. She didn't know what they'd used on her but it had stopped her in her tracks.

Erin reached up towards the tranquilliser dart and yanked it out of her shoulder tossing it away from her.

Within seconds her parents were upon her, George and Andrew next to them although Andrew didn't come to close.

George grabbed Erin's left hand and pulled something out of his pocket.

Erin cried out as the engagement ring was forced onto her finger. It was far too tight but she knew that it was intentional. She looked down at it, the ring was hideous.

It was just a cluster of diamonds; it was (in every definition of the word) a knuckle-duster.

The sight of it put some of Ingrid's rings to shame. It was much larger than Vlad's signet ring.

Immediately she hated the sight of it, she'd get out of this if it was the last thing she did.

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Tom watched as his daughter paced around her bedroom having her little 'hissy fit'.

Erin's room hadn't changed, the wallpaper was still blue and so were the rest of the bedclothes. Although her bookshelves had changed they were full of slayer manuals and autobiographies. They'd go out of the window the moment she was alone – that was assuming they actually fit through the bars that had been installed to stop her from escaping.

Her room was a large room, almost as big as Vlad's and hers at the school combined. She was surprised that cameras hadn't been installed in the room although she supposed it was bugged. It hadn't escaped her notice that they'd built a bathroom especially for her imprisonment.

"I thought I was allowed to marry for love!" She yelled at her father. He promised her since she was little that she would chose her own husband but clearly she'd been wrong. She'd hoped to find someone outside the Slayers Guild, marrying for love not to continue the lineage. A slayer that wasn't born into the 'profession' was rare.

"That was before you decided to run off and date a vampire." That was a poor excuse.

"You did this before you knew what Vlad was."

"He can't do anything to stop it." Tom's face lit up in a smile. "You always knew this would happen."

"I *love* Vladimir Dracula." She yelled at Tom, for the first time she said the 'love' word. She wished it was Vlad she was telling it to.

Tom shook his head, "There's no such thing as love Erin!" He and Steph had never married for love, they loved each other yes but they were never 'in love' the way Erin had been brought up to believe and the way she was talking about her precious vampire. He knew he should never have let Steph read her those fairytales when she was young. Slayer stories should have been more involved in her upbringing.

Erin let out a frustrated growl and folded her arms over her chest, "I suppose you've arranged all the details." Erin snapped at them.

"Not all of them but the church is booked." Of course it would be a church, vampires couldn't enter holy ground. Vlad couldn't 'kidnap' her inside a church. "It's the day before his birthday as well." He confirmed. Erin kicked the floor angrily spinning and biting her tongue to stop herself from speaking. "You're getting married Erin to Andrew, you can't get out of it. Deal with it." Tom looked between them, "I'll leave you to get to know each other." With that he slammed the door shut and locked it.

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Andrew looked at her, his face was impassive. She was more beautiful than he'd been told but she had a will about her, he'd crush that. Besides she'd pay for what she did to him when she'd tried to escape from him.

"Don't expect me to fall at you feet." Erin snapped at him. He seemed taken aback at her words, he stepped further away from her.

"You fell for a 'thing'." He accused, disgust all over his face.

"Use the word 'vampire'." Erin told him, she wasn't going to deny it. "Vladimir Dracula, the Chosen One." She bragged slightly, she hated bragging but she wasn't in the mood for him to taunt her.

"He was using you." Erin shook her head, Vlad would never use anyone unless he was forced to. He'd used Augustus that once to save her and Becky when he was thirsty.

"Just like you are now?" Erin questioned, "Why agree to this? You could have had your pick, why give up that choice?" Andrew looked away, for the first time not looking at her. "You didn't." She laughed, he as being punished just as much as she was.

"Your father wants your licence back, I'm part of that. He wants to show you your place and Dad thinks I can do that." He shrugged; he wasn't exactly thrilled about being with someone who'd chosen a vampire over her own kind.

Erin scoffed, Vlad would never dream about controlling her. Yes he put her in her place when she went too far and needed it but he didn't control her outright.

"All you'll have to do it have children." Andrew was firm in that, she didn't have to slay she just had to breed. Erin felt like she was going to throw up at that thought.

"If you think I'll willingly share the same bed as you you're thicker than you look." He looked insulted at her comment, as if he'd never had anyone refuse him before.

"You shared it with a vampire." Andrew spoke with a grin on his face. They'd shared a bed as in literally sleeping next to each other, although it had been more along the lines of Vlad's couch than a bed – and that was only after Sethius had been destroyed. Erin doubted she would have even been able to fit inside Vlad's 'coffin' with him anyway, as vampires didn't really have beds. "You'll be my wife." It was her duty to have his children.

Erin retched, the thought made her stomach quiver. "I'd rather be drained."

"You'd know about that." He snapped at her.

Andrew grabbed her and forced his lips to hers. She bit down hard on his lip; she felt some of his blood seep through her lips as she did it. It was ironic, she felt like a vampire in that moment.

Andrew cried out and immediately let go of her. She kicked him hard in the gut and he stumbled away from her. She'd seen Vlad fight, she was a quick learner.

He wiped his jaw as he pushed himself up, he looked at the blood on his hand and his face turned purple.

He grabbed her firmly and shook her, "You little…" 

She punched him hard, her knuckles cracked slightly but it felt good as she managed to catch his eye. He never should have bent down when he shook her. His head snapped backwards and he stumbled slightly.

He pressed a hand to his eye and Erin hoped the bruising would be vicious.

She took advantage of him letting go of her to move herself away from him as fast as possible.

The door slammed open, "What's happening in here…" He looked between his daughter and the young man cradling his eye.

"He kissed me." Erin snarled, scrubbing at her lips.

Tom looked furious at Andrew, Erin was surprised at that. "You aren't supposed to touch her until your wedding night, that includes kissing…" 

"It was just a kiss to seal the engagement."

"You know the rules of the contract," Of course it was in the precious contract, that's why her father was really upset. "No physical contact before the night." Tom grabbed Andrew and pulled him from the room, he wasn't concerned about Andrew as he was bound in the contract. It had his signature, as he was over eighteen as well as his father's. "Lets get that eye seen to." He knew his daughter could throw a good punch; he'd had to treat her brother more than once.

"Good riddance." Erin muttered as Tom shoved Andrew out of the door.

Tom pointed at Erin angrily, "And you, young lady," She was six again by that tone, "Are going to have to learn to live with him."

With that he slammed the door shut again leaving her alone in her prison again.

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Erin yanked at her ring, it wouldn't budge. If she tugged any harder she'd dislocate her finger, she was sure of that. She even considered cutting her finger off just in an effort to get it off her hand. She wished the diamonds would smash or chip or something but diamonds were the hardest things on the planet. A few broken diamonds might make it look better.

Erin tried once more yanking on the ring. It still didn't move she hit her hand hard against the wall regretting it as pain shot up her already aching hand. It was still a good kind of pain – she'd carry the pleasant memory of smacking Andrew with her for the rest of her life.

Erin heard the key turn in the lock and she immediately looked towards the door to her room. She'd been waiting for a visit from her jailer.

Steph sat on the edge of Erin's bed. Erin brought her knees under her chin, she just stared at her mother. Erin didn't have any more tears left to shed.

"I told your father not to do this to you."

"And that makes it better?" Erin asked quietly, her voice gruff. Stephanie Noble couldn't undo this with a few words.

"How long have you lived with Vlad's family?"

"Five months." Erin spoke quietly. Five months of living with vampires, she didn't want to go back to living with her parents.

"And Vlad? How long did he force you to date him?"

Erin's eyes flashed violently, "Vlad didn't force me to do anything." She remembered clearly how nervous Vlad had been asking her out. "And its four months."

Steph corrected Erin, "It *was*."

"It *is*." As far as Erin was concerned she was still dating Vlad, the hideous thing on her finger didn't dispute that. She'd find a way out of it. She wasn't going to be married to the slayer who thought he was God's gift to women.

"You are engaged Erin, Vlad has no part in your life."

"I'm not engaged until I say I am." Erin told her firmly.

"You can't get out of this Erin. Once its signed it's binding, there is nothing that will break it. Its respected by slayers, breathers *and* vampires." The contracts were how vampires recognised married slayer couples five hundred years ago.

"I suppose you won't tell Vlad." Erin knew that without a doubt.

"If we did there's nothing he could do about it." They really didn't know anything about Vlad, Vlad would try and stop it she knew he would.

Erin tried to plea with her mother again, "You'd trained with Dad so you knew what he was like before you married. You didn't have a contract you just had to get married at twenty one."

Steph went to stroke Erin's hair like she had done when Erin was a little girl. "Your dad knows what's best for you."

Erin scoffed, "Taking me away from my home…"

"THIS IS YOUR HOME ERIN!" Steph yelled at her daughter.

Erin slammed her fists down on her bed. "THIS HAS NEVER BEEN MY HOME!" Erin yelled back at her, she paused as she thought over her mother's words. "I forgot your counting the six weeks of the summer holiday I spent here. The rest were at the Academy."

Steph had enough now, Erin couldn't see that they were only trying to help her. "Put this on." She told Erin firmly, handing her a little bottle. Erin looked at the frosted bottle. Stasis Spray. They wanted to block out her scent.

"Worried about Vlad finding me?" Erin taunted, she knew she should have more respect for her parents but as far as she as concerned her parents should never have done this to her.

Steph snatched the bottle back from Erin's hands and yanked her daughter's wrists towards her and squirted them, rubbing them frantically to get it absorbed into her skin. She then grabbed her neck and sprayed some there rubbing it until it was red.

Steph stood up stiffly and walked towards the door. "You're back at that Academy Monday morning."

"Can't wait." There wasn't as much sarcasm this time as she actually wanted to be away from this whole marriage thing as fast as possible.

Besides the Academy had a very interesting section in the library. After all every law had a loophole.

All the while trying her hardest to ignore the knot in her stomach told her there was no escape this time.

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	14. Think Geography

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_I'd like your opinion again:_

_How far would you like me to go with Vlad and Erin's relationship?_

_I have a four different ideas but I'm struggling to choose which one to use._

Chapter 14: Think Geography

The slayers were cautious as they crossed over the threshold of the school. They noticed the vampire waiting for them. Vlad looked the odd one out dressed in his formal vampire gear. Jonno had never known Vlad to wear it by choice before, he looked as if he were preparing himself for some kind of battle.

Jonno and Mina had a clear idea of why they'd been summoned by Vlad.

"What took so long?" Vlad snarled at them, looking at the sky it was well into the afternoon.

Jonno shook his head at Vlad, they'd got there as fast as they could. Contrary to popular belief they didn't sit around doing nothing all day. Slayers had paperwork too. "What's the rush?"

"The Nobles just attacked me and my family!" Vlad snapped at Jonno, Jonno knew the gravity of that action. "They took Erin."

Mina spoke, it wasn't what Vlad wanted to hear but there were no laws against one of their actions. "They can take her as she's their daughter."

"What about trying to slay me?" Vlad asked, his eyebrows rising in anger. "They took Erin then dropped a UV bomb," He saw the look on Jonno's face, "And there's no way you can drop on accidentally after all they have grips all around them." That's what the black lines on the grenades were – grips.

Jonno rubbed his forehead, he never expected them to pull a stunt like this. He'd never met the Nobles personally but he knew how much they upheld the law. The fact they had ignored the truce was worrying.

"You know Erin doesn't want her license back, she's not a slayer anymore. They've broken your laws and almost broken the truce." Vlad sighed, his voice lowering, "You know I don't want anyone drained but if it were the Council here you know I wouldn't have been able to hold off their demand for retaliation."

Jonno nodded he understood perfectly and he was grateful that Vlad wasn't prepared to retaliate. It showed how much Vlad actually cared for Erin, he cared about her more than retaliating.

"Do you know what they want to do to her?"

Vlad nodded, they'd practically told him. "They are sending her back to one of the Academies." Vlad told him, "Its part of getting her licence back." Judging by the slayers expressions they still hadn't worked out who it was allowing Erin to have her license back but that wasn't important at the moment.

"You don't even know when they're sending her there…"

"Considering its Saturday I'm willing to bet that they'll send her Monday morning." Vlad snapped at them, he wasn't as ignorant as they seemed to think he was.

Jonno shook his head, "Do you know how many academies there are?" He asked Vlad; he needed a reason to single one out. If he even visited the wrong academy word would get back to the Nobles and they'd yank her out of the academy as fast as they could. Anyway he doubted Erin would even be enrolled under her real name.

"Five." Everyone in the room announced. Jonno looked at them shocked.

"We've known about the slayer training academies for the last two hundred years." Bertrand told him, they knew they existed they just didn't know where.

The slayers had their sources of information; they supposed the vampires must have theirs.

"Did Erin give you anything that might help?" He asked, he knew Erin often wrote letters and especially of the ones she'd written to Vlad when she'd returned to the Guild, although they didn't find out about those until after the whole Sethius incident.

Vlad nodded pulling the note out of his waistband. "Do you know what these mean?" He passed the note Erin had given him to Jonno, Jonno looked at it, he nodded slowly. He knew what they were immediately.

"They're co-ordinates." Jonno told him, passing him the note again.

"Like maths?" Vlad asked confused, these didn't look like something he'd covered in maths. He was in the top group now so he should recognise them if they were co-ordinates but he didn't know how he was supposed to use them she hadn't used commas or brackets.

"Geographical co-ordinates. Longitude and latitude. They're location co-ordinates."

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Geographical Co-ordinates.

The numbers were degrees and the letters represented the compass points.

That explained why Vlad didn't recognise them and what Erin had meant when she said 'think geography', she knew he'd contact Jonno to help them. Jonno would know what she meant.

Vlad closed his eyes, he felt his love for Erin shoot up another notch. Erin had given him a starting point; she'd done this just in case her parents won. He'd be able to find her.

Jonno looked up with anger in his eyes. "They're the locations of our five Academies." There was no harm in saying how many academies there were, the vampires knew how many existed even if they didn't know where. He looked at Vlad, his tongue rolling in his jaw. "Did Erin give you these?"

Vlad wasn't going to talk about something that didn't matter, "I don't care where you train your slayers I just care about getting Erin out of there."

Jonno found his answer in there somewhere, probably in the words he didn't say. "So she did give them to you."

"She didn't give them me so I could attack them, she gave them me to get her out of there." Vlad told him, they weren't going to call her a traitor again.

"Hang on you said the *five* academies, there's six sets of co-ordinates."

"I don't recognise the first set." Jonno told them handing them back to them. If they'd seen them there was no point in trying to hold onto them in the name of security.

"Where do they read?" Vlad asked curiously.

"The middle of Gloucestershire." Jonno told him quietly. It didn't make any sense there weren't any academies in Gloucestershire. "Near Stroud." Jonno lifted up his tracker, it had been customised although Mina just called it a 'glorified Sat Nav'. Vlad studied it closely.

Vlad felt a smile creep over his face. There was only one reason Erin would have given him that location.

The Count extended his hand, his long index finger pointing directly at Vlad. "Don't you dare Vladdy."

Ingrid shook her head, they weren't prepared. "They're trained slayers Vlad, they're nothing like Erin."

"Don't you think I know that?" Vlad shouted at his sister. Erin might be their biological daughter but she was nothing like them at all.

"We need to plan this, you can't go in without a plan…"

The Count gestured to Bertrand; sometimes his son forgot he wasn't in charge yet. "Bertrand, after him."

Bertrand bowed quickly before his Regent before speeding off into the night after Vlad.

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Vlad landed silently behind the trees. He gazed at the house in front of him. It was a large house, he didn't realise being a slayer paid so well.

It wasn't a mansion but it was certainly large, it was like an old farmhouse that had been converted. There were no barns but there were two floors to the building, it was Georgian in design but no windows had been bricked up like so many from that era due to the window tax.

The house had an extension to it, it was a modern extension the bricks were different somehow, they didn't seem as old as the rest of the brickwork.

There was a large open clearing all around it; it was all floodlit with UV lamps. The energy bill must be enormous.

It looked empty but the fact the lights were on told him someone was home otherwise why bother protecting the property?

He sniffed the air trying to detect Erin, he couldn't smell her but it didn't mean she wasn't there. They probably would have made her wear stasis spray to cover her scent. The thought irked him, he loved Erin's scent it wasn't tainted the way other slayer's scents were. There was the very faint smell of stakes about her, just like every other slayer but there was no garlic, it wasn't a bitter scent it was a sweet scent. A scent that was honest and caring.

He looked around the house more carefully, forcing his vision to become sharper. He would have a headache later for this but it was worth it. There were three sets of windows that were interesting. Each window was barred vertically and horizontally. In between each bar was a small rectangular gap.

It would be a safe bet to guess that Erin was behind those bars.

Vlad felt a presence behind him; he didn't need to hear the twigs breaking to know he'd been followed. Those who knew him often forgot that his senses were more advances than the normal vampires. Only one person would be sent after him.

"Go back to the school." He spoke to the air without looking at him; he wasn't in the mood for this.

"No Vlad."

Vlad snapped his head around at Bertrand's defiance. "I order you…"

Bertrand wasn't going to budge on this subject. "I have to obey the Regent Vlad, you've got two months until you're in charge."

Now he was taking the hierarchy of their world seriously. "Betraying us hasn't been a problem before." Bertrand stiffened as Vlad's words hit home, exactly what Vlad had intended them to do.

"Erin's not worth it Vlad." Bertrand told him, she wasn't worth Vlad life. "You know the Council will never let you be with anyone other than a vampire, you're doing yourself and her a favour leaving her."

Bertrand didn't know anything about relationships, especially not modern day ones; his last one had been a couple of centuries ago.

"Erin is worth it." Vlad hissed at him, his eyes pure black. "Erin is the reason I'm willing to lead our kind. Without her I couldn't care less about being the Grand High Vampire."

Vlad turned away from Bertrand, looking back towards the house. He could make it across, if he was fast, it would hurt but he should reach the house before he was too badly burned.

Vlad felt something press into his back, something sharp. He knew what it was immediately – although where he got it was a prominent question in his mind.

He let out a string of hisses and snarls; Bertrand had just crossed the line.

"I'm sorry Vlad, I can't let you do this."

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_How far would you like me to go with Vlad and Erin's relationship?_

_Thanks for reading._


	15. Water Bottle

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Sorry still not having much luck with the Internet, its been offline for the last few hours (8pm –11:35pm) while they've tried to fix it on their end. Tomorrow might be the same, an engineer's coming out to try and fix it._

_A longer chapter again…_

Chapter 15: Water Bottle

Vlad spun sharply, facing Bertrand fully. He let out a hiss as he glanced down at the stake that was now pressed against his cold skin directly over his still heart.

Vlad looked upwards his eyes crimson red, they'd only been that colour twice in his unlife. Once when he actually gained his fangs and the other time when he allowed chaos to reign around the school.

Bertrand's hand didn't waver under Vlad's anger. He could bear it; he'd seen it before and faced it before.

"I'm sorry Vlad." Bertrand repeated. Vlad didn't accept it. He didn't have time for this at all. He clicked his fingers and the stake burst into flame.

Bertrand immediately let go of the stake and tackled Vlad, fully intending to fly back to the school with him. Vlad fell to the ground but Bertrand didn't count on his quick reflexes. Vlad kicked his legs upwards before he could fully grab him and send him flying over the top of him.

Bertrand gasped as he landed sharply on his back. Vlad stood slowly and looked down at his mentor, Bertrand shouldn't have tried to stop him.

Bertrand jumped upwards and tried to pin Vlad's arms to his side. Vlad dashed out of the way before Bertrand could touch him, he grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his mentor's back sharply. Bertrand gasped he didn't realise Vlad was so strong. Obviously Vlad had never let his powers increase to this level before in training.

His knees buckled and he landed on the ground with a jolt. He looked up at Vlad, his eyes watering instinctively at the painful sensations racing through his arm. Vlad's grip increased on Bertrand and Bertrand knew he wouldn't be able to escape Vlad this time.

Vlad looked at Bertrand, he hadn't wanted Bertrand to realise how powerful he actually was he wanted to keep his mentor guessing just in case he was betrayed.

The only think that prevented Vlad from turning Bertrand to dust was the fact that his mentor was obeying his father.

Bertrand tried to get Vlad to see reason; "You can't do this without thinking it through." Vlad had to think about everything before saving Erin. He couldn't risk getting killed over a breather; if he wanted this then he would need help.

"You don't want me to save her. You've always had a problem with Erin, trying to kill her from the moment you met her." Maybe that wasn't strictly true but he had a feeling

Bertrand shook his head, "She's always distracted you." Vlad couldn't afford distractions in his role amongst their kind.

"She didn't distract me until after you tried to get rid of her." It was true Vlad had constantly thought about her during training but it was only when he tried to pick though the lies they'd told him that he truly was distracted.

"She's not the right person to stand by your side, she doesn't know anything about our culture. You should be with a vampire not a mortal. Your sister would agree with me." Vlad let out a low growl.

"Do you know why Ingrid caused chaos in Stokely?" Vlad asked him, it was about time Bertrand actually checked his facts instead of making assumptions. "Ingrid lost Will, the breather she turned into a half fang. So don't you dare assume that you know how Ingrid feels about it."

Bertrand remained quiet. He looked at the young vampire in front of him and the window he knew Vlad had been gazing at.

"You love her?" Bertrand was resigned as he spoke.

Vlad's answer was obvious, "You know I do."

Bertrand shook his head he knew he wouldn't be able to talk Vlad out of this. "You think you can get her out tonight?"

"I can try, but I have to see her either way." Bertrand nodded, "But if you ever try that stunt again I won't hold back." Bertrand gulped he didn't realise Vlad had been holding back. He nodded slowly, letting Vlad know he understood perfectly what he'd meant. "NOW GO!" Vlad shouted at him. Bertrand nodded before vanishing.

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Vlad hovered in the air directly in front of what he assumed was Erin's room, he'd managed to avoid the UV lights by flying above them then dropping. If he kept close enough to Erin's room the overhanging roof would shield him from the light. The curtains were posing a problem at the moment.

He looked at the bars, he knew they were argentalium so he couldn't use his powers on them and they looked like the highest grade argentalium, he tried to pull on them but he cried out as the metal burned his skin, garlic paint.

He quickly dodged out of the way as one of the searchlights was cast along the wall of the farmhouse that Erin's room was on.

Vlad knocked on the window lightly hoping that it was Erin's room wishing that he'd used telepathy instead.

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Erin tried tugging at the ring again, nothing happened. Her finger was raw now; it was really beginning to dig in as her finger swelled at her actions.

She hated being here, she'd found three bugs so far, and each one had been dropped in a glass of water. She'd enjoyed the sparks erupting from them as the electronics met the water. Her parents didn't rush in so she assumed that they were going to deny them ever being there.

Erin flopped back down on the bed, glaring up at her white ceiling. She missed the triangular roof of her room at the school; she even missed the hard wood of the coffin underneath her.

Erin jumped as she heard a knocking sound; immediately she turned towards the door, panic surfacing as she thought someone was about to enter her room then she realised they wouldn't knock they'd just barge in.

She heard the faint tapping again and realised it was coming from the window. She wouldn't be amused if it was a bird perching on the bars.

Erin threw the curtains open with an irritated expression before realising it wasn't a bird at her window.

"Vlad!" She gasped whispering as quietly as she could, knowing he'd hear her every word. She opened the small window as far as she could with the bars in the way, she reached her right hand out and Vlad grasped it gently. "You can't be here." They'd find him soon; he couldn't dodge the automatic searchlights forever.

"I'm here." He answered a small smile crossing his lips. "Jonno helped me find you. I was never taught about geographical co-ordinates." Erin looked down; she assumed that he'd been taught that, at the Academy she'd been taught about them many years ago.

Vlad looked around the small gap, he couldn't get in there as smoke, the wind was too strong outside. He'd have to enter the room as a bat.

Erin saw what he was planning and squeezed his had tighter, calling his attention to four small blocks, one on each corner of the window.

"They are body heat sensors." Erin told him quietly, gesturing to them. They'd detect him straight away. An idea came to her and she raced to the bathroom.

Vlad watched her incomplete confusion, she returned a minute later, something clutched in her hand. She handed it to him through the window, practically throwing at him.

Vlad wasn't prepared for the heat that came from the object and he lost his concentration for a moment and plummeted suddenly. He looked at it, prodding the rubber cover with his finger.

"It's a hot water bottle." Erin explained, wondering if he'd ever seen one before.

"I know what it is. What's it for?"

"Just hold it okay?" Erin hissed at him. "Can you transform and hold it?"

"Into a bat?" He asked, he couldn't believe what she was suggesting; surely it would bee difficult to hold as a bat.

"It'll fool the sensor," The warmth would fool the sensor into thinking he had a mortal's body heat. He raised an eyebrow at her; he was convinced she was mad.

Erin rolled her eyes at him. "Just try it."

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Holding the hot water bottle had proved to be a bit of a challenge as he tried to get through the bars, he'd ended up piercing the rubber as he tried to get in. He'd managed it though.

The moment he morphed into his human form he was knocked backwards. His back hit the solid wall, as Erin pressed herself against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling his head down to hers. Vlad didn't resist as she kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, his fingers brushing across the slither of skin that was exposed as her shirt rod up.

Erin grasped the cool leather of his collar, holding it tightly moaning as he deepened the kiss.

Vlad let out a sharp gasp as something tangled in his hair; he winced as she tried to move her hand. He arched away from her breaking their kiss. Erin looked confused for a moment before realising why he'd pulled back.

Erin stood on her toes; the stupid diamonds in the ring had caught on his thick black locks. She turned his head lightly so she could see how it was tangled easier. She found she couldn't untangle it easily as he was still taller than her so she shoved his shoulders downwards and his beck bent so his hair was at eye level.

Carefully she moved his hair away from the diamonds, wincing as he let out a small gasp as she tugged on his hair a bit too sharply.

Eventually she'd untangled ever piece of hair from the ring.

Then Vlad saw it. Erin knew she'd never forget the hurt and horror filled look that crossed his face at the sight of the jewellery on her hand.

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Vlad blinked hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him. His eyes began to sting as he tried to work it out in his mind.

Erin could see Vlad's mind was working overtime to explain it. "It's not what it looks like, Vlad." Erin immediately protested, well it was but it wasn't at the same time.

"You're engaged." He whispered, stepping back and away from her. He couldn't take his eyes off the ring.

Erin shook her head, in her heart she wasn't. "I'm not."

Vlad felt anger boil inside him at the sight of the ring. "That tells me otherwise Erin." He pointed to the ring.

"Dad arranged it, he's marrying me off to get me my license back. I don't have a say in it. I can't stop it."

Vlad couldn't understand why she was still wearing the ring if she didn't want it. "But you're choosing to wear it."

"I can't take it off." She whispered. She tugged at it to show him, it wouldn't move. Vlad stepped closer to her, holding his hand out for her to place hers on top of his. He pulled on it gently but she cried out in pain as it rubbed against her already raw wounds. It didn't move under his strength.

He looked at it; it didn't suit her at all. The ring was too flashy for Erin. It was clearly designed small so she couldn't take it off at all.

She looked at him, her eyes glistening. She didn't want this elephant in the room as they talked. She knew there was a way for him to take it off.

"Can you take it off?"

Vlad nodded and pinched the diamond between his fingers, with a quick movement the silver band snapped with a sharp click, it fell to the ground leaving her finger exposed to the air.

Vlad hissed as something came into contact with his skin. Erin looked down as smoke began to emerge from where a paste of sorts had come into contact with his skin. Erin pushed him to one side, quickly turning on the tap. She grabbed her flannel and soaked it under the tap; she gently wiped the paste away from his skin. Garlic. They had put garlic into the centre of the ring – almost as if they'd expected him to do this.

He didn't take his eyes off her as she cleaned his skin, it would sting but he'd survive.

Vlad gently rubbed the red raw skin and brought it up to his lips kissing it softly. Erin jumped into his arms, holding him tightly to her.

"Thanks." She whispered into his neck. She pulled back from him as she realised he hadn't let go of her hand. He brushed his fingers over her bruised knuckles, she saw his questioning look. "I punched my 'fiancé'." She explained, the memory making her smile slightly.

"Who did they get to arrange this?" He asked, he needed to know. Jonno needed to know. He leaned against the sink, the leather stopped the water from seeing through his clothes.

"George Hartleigh. Its his son I'm supposed to marry." Erin took a deep breath she might as well get all the information out there. "They've arranged it for the day before your eighteenth so you can't object to it."

"Dad's over eighteen and Ingrid so they could contest…" Vlad trailed off as Erin began to shake her head. He looked at her completely confused.

"Only you could contest it." She told him softly, "If it's contested it's saying they have a 'claim' to the woman involved and a new contract is created. If your dad does it, it'll mean I'd have to marry him." She shook her head at the thought, trying not to pull a disgusted look. It failed and Vlad chuckled.

"So we have someone else claim you until I come of age and…"

Erin looked up at him, she was rubbing her arms trying to comfort herself. "It can only be done once. They'd insist that I marry the man that was claiming me immediately. There's no point in letting a perfectly organised wedding go to waste." Her tone became more sarcastic as she spoke.

"Do you divorce?" He tried, he hated the thought of her marrying but it might be a way.

"Its permanent." She looked up at him there were only two reasons she was getting married, for them to control her and the other one. "I'm getting married to breed Vlad, nothing else." His gaze snapped to hers. Erin slid down the wall; she pressed her palms into her eyes trying to physically stop her tears from falling. "They're forcing me to continue the lineage. It's the ultimate slayer commitment."

Vlad slid down the wall next to her, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He felt sick at what they were trying to force her to do. "Vampires would never force you." Vlad told her quietly, kissing her hair. "I know Dad goes on about heirs but he waited six hundred years, mum waited two hundred and fifty."

Vlad couldn't believe that their culture was more advanced in the terms of relationships. Being a slayer was like living in the Middle Ages.

"I promise I won't let you marry him, even if I have to start a war to stop it." He was seriously considering starting a slayer war just to save her but he knew she'd try to talk him out of it.

Erin turned into his shoulder as her tears started to overflow. He let her bury her face in his chest and rested his cheek on her head. His own tears beginning to flow down his face.

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Erin slowly pulled back her eyes were all read and puffy. She lifted her hand and wiped the tears from his face that she could see. Erin stood slowly, her bones cracking as she'd been sat in an uncomfortable position.

Erin spoke softly, not turning around to face him. "You need to go before they find you here."

Vlad followed her into her bedroom. He didn't get too close he remained a few steps behind her. "I'm not leaving you like this." Vlad told her quietly, he wasn't going to leave her this upset. They'd figure something out before he left.

Erin kept her focus on the darkness outside her window. "You have to. I'll be fine." She tried to assure him, his safety was her top priority at the moment. If they stood a chance of getting her out of this, no matter how small, she couldn't do it without him.

Vlad took his chance, he needed to say it, "I love you."

Erin spun around; sure she'd misheard what he'd said. Her eyes full of hope and fear. "What?" She asked him, she needed to make sure she'd heard his words correctly. She knew how he felt but he hadn't actually said the words.

Vlad stepped closer to her, he lifted her chin gently, "I love you." He repeated, nodding for emphasis as he said the words – his gaze never leaving hers.

Erin smiled widely at him; she let his words wash over her. His eyes showed it all. "I love you too." She whispered, she could have laughed at the way he relaxed with her words, as if he doubted that she felt the same way.

Vlad lifted her chin that fraction higher to press the softest of kisses to her lips before pulling back. Erin's eyes fluttered closed at the contact before they snapped open once again as she pouted slightly at the loss of contact.

Vlad let a small grin appear on his face, Erin really was cute when she pouted like that.

He leaned down again and kissed her for longer this time, Erin nipped his lip gently forcing him to open his mouth so the kiss could deepen not that he minded. His hands gently ran up and down her back as he slanted his mouth over hers. The kiss wasn't hurried, their tongues moved lazily against each other.

Erin lifted her hands up to the front of Vlad's leather jacket; she slowly lowered the zip down, not once breaking the kiss. Once the zip was undone she began to push it from his shoulders.

Vlad pulled away, "Erin…" He dragged out slowly; he grasped her hands in his before she could fully push the jacket from his shoulders. He wasn't sure Erin was thinking clearly, he needed to know for sure.

Erin knew what he was asking, "I'm sure Vlad."

He still wanted to make sure she knew hat might happen if they went that far, "We've never…" Erin pressed a finger to his lips cutting him off completely.

"I'm sure." She wanted this, if it was their only chance to be together then she wanted to take it.

Vlad nodded slowly, letting a nervous breath escape – a habit he'd never been able to shake – before lowering his lips back down to hers.

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	16. Clarke

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Just warning you…this might be a touch longer than my other fics (a chapter or two) I'm hoping it won't but I thought I'd give you advanced warning. I'm sorry about that._

Chapter 16: Clarke

Vlad looked towards the still darkened window, he'd have to leave soon before dawn broke but he didn't want to. He couldn't leave her here but he had no choice at the moment, he needed to see Jonno before he could do anything in terms of a rescue.

He hadn't slept, he didn't want to be caught unaware by anyone if they entered the room. Instead he'd alternated between using his hearing to keep watch and watching Erin sleep.

They were spooned together, facing her bedroom door. He smiled at the state of her hair, he knew his must be as bad.

Vlad pressed a kiss to Erin's bare shoulder, rubbing her arm gently, before nuzzling his nose in her neck. He could smell her blood, the effects of the stasis spray had worn off, the blood didn't tempt him as much now but he relished her scent.

Erin smiled and turned over to face him, she cupped his cheek with her hand. She gave him a gentle kiss before pulling back.

"Hey." She whispered, a slight blush on her face as she remembered back to a few hours ago.

Vlad loved her blushes, it was something he picked up on as he couldn't blush anymore. "Hey." He looked down and lifted her hand, caressing her ring finger gently. The swelling had gone down. Erin realised the broken ring must be in the bathroom still. "How are you going to explain it breaking?" He asked her.

"I'll think of something Vlad." She assured him, she'd say it got caught when she was in the shower and snapped or something like that.

Vlad gently lifted the ring she wore around her neck; it looked like she didn't ever want to take it off. "I didn't think you'd still be wearing it." He admitted, he thought she'd put it in her pocket when she was taken to hide it from her parents.

"You gave it me Vlad, I'm not going to take it off." Conviction was clear in her voice, she wouldn't take it off and she wouldn't let it be taken from her.

"Its not as flashy as *that* ring." Erin shuddered at the thought of the other ring, the one that could be seen from the moon.

She shrugged slightly, watching as he played with the ring between his index finger and thumb. "It's your ring." That made all the difference to her. She didn't like flashy and expensive, she liked the heartfelt and meaningful.

"It doesn't mean the same thing." He reminded her softly, he began to wish it did but it wasn't an engagement ring.

Erin gave him a sad smile, "I know." It meant more to her than an engagement ring, the most powerful vampire in existence had given her his protection. No one else could offer her that. "You can't take me with you." Erin whispered sadly to him, looking behind him at the 'cage' she was in. Vlad shook his head. He wanted to but it had taken shape shifting to get inside so there was no way he could get a mortal out with him.

"I can go out the front door…" Erin pressed a finger to his lips cutting him off.

"You'll be outnumbered. I'm not letting you get slain, they don't know you're in here."

They'd kill her if they found Vlad in here with her although at the moment that seemed like a very pleasant alternative to marriage.

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Erin clutched the sheets to her tightly as Vlad began to move off the bed. She could tell he didn't want to go and she didn't want him to either but he had to if he was going to get back to the school before dawn.

Vlad grabbed his shirt from the floor and slipped it on over his head. Erin let out a small chuckle and he looked at her completely confused. He couldn't see why she was laughing. Erin pointed to the mirror, unable to speak and he folded his arms over his chest. He didn't have a reflection; sometimes she forgot that about him.

"Inside…inside out." She managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter. Vlad looked down and noticed that he could see the white label of his shirt that clearly read Vlad D. in childlike scribble, he hadn't realised that Renfield had got his hands on his shirt to name tag it.

With a sigh he yanked the shirt back over his head and turned it the correct way before slipping it back on.

He glanced up to see Erin standing in front of him, the sheet had been switched for a robe. He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. He pressed his forehead against hers. Erin closed her eyes.

"I didn't hurt you…right?" He asked softly. Erin knew what he was talking about; she ducked her head blushing slightly before shaking it slowly. Vlad hadn't hurt her, the opposite in fact. She heard him let out a relieved sigh, she was touched by his thoughtfulness at wanting to make sure she was okay. He felt her arms wrap around his waist as he held her close. "I'll get you out of the Academy and this match." He promised her.

"They're sending me *back* to the Academy." Erin told him softly, her mother had told her practically that she was going back to where she had attended until last July. "I went to Clarke Academy. The teachers can keep an eye on me there."

The jangling of keys on the other side of the door alerted them to the fact someone was about to enter the room. "Go." Erin told him pushing him towards the window.

"I'll get Jonno and Ingrid, we'll find a way to undo this." He promised again.

Erin kissed him quickly, pulling back and glancing to the door as she heard the key being inserted into the lock. "I know you will, now go – quickly." She whispered.

"I love you." He whispered to her.

Erin's throat clenched at his words, delight and love filling her. "Love you too." The key was beginning to be turned. "Clarke Academy." She reminded him. "Go."

Vlad nodded kissing her quickly before shape shifting into a bat and flying off into the night, just as her bedroom door opened.

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"Where have you been?" The Count demanded the moment he saw Vlad, throwing the curtain across the window as the light broke through it just after Vlad flew in.

Vlad gave him a pointed look, "With Erin. They've got her locked up like a prisoner."

"To them she is." Ingrid told him her face twisting into a sneer of pure disgust. At least her dad had never locked her up. "You couldn't get her out?" Vlad shot a look at Bertrand who was doing his best to remain impassive.

"I had to shape shift to get inside, there was no way I could get her out."

"It took you most of the night to work that out?" The Count asked his son, his eyes narrowing as he studied his son. There was something Vlad wasn't telling him, he'd find out what it was if it was the last thing he'd ever do. "What were you doing?" So much for trying to be subtle.

Vlad ignored the question, there were more important things at hand to speak about. "Erin is being forced to get married so she can have her license back." Vlad told Jonno firmly. "Her fiancé is Andrew Hartleigh."

"Vlad…" Ingrid began trying to think of something to comfort him.

"So George Hartleigh is the one giving licenses back." Mina muttered under her breath. That's why he as so confused when Erin didn't appeal the decision.

"He signed the contract yes." Vlad snapped at them. Marriage contracts were barbaric, their culture had eradicated them two centuries ago. Yes there were still the odd arranged marriages but they could be broken easily unlike the slayer ones.

Ingrid looked at the slayers, "You have marriage contracts?" They were supposed to be more sophisticated than the barbarians vampires supposedly were. Arranged marriages were arranged verbally in their culture but could be broken easily, besides they were rare.

Jonno's face became grave, he knew the consequences of a signed contract. "I'm sorry Vlad."

"I'm going to get her out of it." Vlad told him firmly, there was no 'if' about it. Erin would never be forced to marry someone while he was still…well…not breathing.

Jonno shook his head before speaking softly to him, he would never wish a contract on anyone. "The contract is permanent Vlad, there's nothing that can be done about it." Jonno ran a hand through his hair trying to think it through. "It was originally created because there weren't enough women slayers and our kind needed to grow, this way women were prevented from 'diluting' the gene pool." Jonno told him sternly.

Jonno was one of those that were considered 'diluted' as his father had been a slayer but his mother had been a normal human when they married.

Mina continued, "Slayers married slayers, the same way vampires marry vampires."

"Mate." Four voices spoke at once.

"What?" Now Jonno was confused, he looked at the vampires.

"The proper term is mate for a vampire, not marry."

"Hang on you nearly married Magda." He couldn't understand how the Count could call it marriage when it was Magda but protest it was mating in this conversation.

The Count shook his head, "In our culture," The Count began before pausing, they were talking about permanent unions. A marriage ceremony wasn't permanent amongst their kind. "Marriage can be broken, mating can't be. Mating is permanent." Mating was rare amongst their kind, marriages happened but mating was the ultimate commitment. Once a couple was mated they couldn't separate officially or unofficially. Arranged matings had been abolished over a century ago – they'd been created only to control their women.

"Why don't we try and get her out of there?" Vlad asked Jonno, "We can deal with the contract afterwards."

"You're asking me to break one of our most sacred laws Vlad." Jonno hoped Vlad knew the gravity of what he was asking. Vlad was asking him to betray the Guild where the contract was concerned.

"Erin isn't a slayer, Jonno. You're responsible for what's happening to her as its one of your senior slayers that's giving her back her license. At least deal with that." Vlad pleaded, Jonno had never known Vlad to plead for anything.

He could tackle it from the point of view that Erin shouldn't even be at the academy

"If she's with them they can bring the date of the marriage forward, I promised her I'd find a way. I'm not letting her down."

Jonno knew Vlad had a point, if the marriage hadn't been announced amongst the Guild it was another law that was being broken and it could be deemed 'illegal'. He had a duty to protect every slayer, even ones that had betrayed them.

He let out a long sigh, no one should be forced into a contract, "We can't just yank her out of the school," Jonno began.

"Why not?" Ingrid asked him she didn't see what the problem was.

"Because I haven't got a good enough reason to yank her out of the academy." Jonno told Ingrid, "The argument 'she's not a slayer' won't work because a senior member is involved in her getting her license back and 'she doesn't want to get married' won't work either."

Ingrid scoffed slightly, drawing irritated looks from her family. "So it'll have to be unofficial?"

Jonno nodded, "I can do a recon, go to Clarke Academy find out who enrolled her and…"

"Why can't Vlad get her?"

"Because they're vampire proof, every academy has a different set of defences only known to the headmaster of that academy. Vlad wouldn't be prepared for half of them." Jonno told her there was a reason other than the neon sign above his head that said he didn't want Vlad there.

"If you go there they'll know you're looking for her specifically and pull her out immediately." Vlad told Jonno sternly, one of the Slayers' Guild's highest members wouldn't visit an Academy for no reason.

"Well you can't exactly go in there either." Jonno told him. The Academies were vampire proof; there were too many defences. "You know you're picture will be all over the Academies as they'll be learning about the truce, so unless you know someone who actually knows enough about vampires and slayers to get away with it we can't do anything."

Vlad grimaced slightly as a thought came to him, "Sibling slayers are rare, right?"

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Thanks for reading._


	17. Approval

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_My Internet is back! Although it took the engineer six hours to fix it, a lot of wiring had to be replaced (I'm from the Ice Age we can't have wireless in our house thanks to migraines)._

_Tomorrow (for definite) the posting will be no later than 9:30pm._

Chapter 17: Approval

Erin's door was thrown open, she was grabbed and thrown backwards. Her legs impacting the back of the bed forcing her to fall back onto it.

"I was looking out of the window." She snapped at them. Steph slammed the window shut taking care to study Erin's room making sure that no one was hiding there.

Tom narrowed his eyes at her, "Where is he Erin?"

"Vlad hasn't been here." She protested immediately, her father glared at her. They weren't telling her something. She knew if there was a camera then they would have seen him earlier.

"Tom." Steph muttered, holding the cup of water up seeing the three broken bugs sitting at the bottom. Erin noticed that her mother's fist was clenched by her side, she lifted it up into her father's gaze; she opened it revealing the two halves of the ring that Vlad had broken. She didn't feel guilty at all, she felt pride. "The garlic is missing."

"I caught it on the shower door, the soldering snapped." Erin explained, she lifted her hand up. Some of the escaping garlic was still on her hand, at least the odour was. Her father sniffed it. He sniffed her other hand as well, he knew Erin hadn't taken it off them broken it. "You know a vampire wouldn't have been able to survive it."

Tom nodded, the concentrated garlic would have severely wounded a vampire, it would have started a reaction that wouldn't have been able to be stopped. Vlad wasn't a normal vampire and she'd treated it immediately.

"Vlad would never have been able to survive it." She lied to them, injecting enough sadness into her tone.

They seemed to believe her on that at least. "You still had him in here." Steph told her angrily, the fact that he'd been there wasn't a good thing.

Her father walked across to her wardrobe, he yanked something from behind it. Erin's eyes narrowed as she realised what it was. She'd missed one. There was no point in denying it now.

He lifted up a small device, it looked like a Dictaphone turning it on from the beginning. Erin closed her eyes dreading what was on it.

"_It doesn't mean the same thing."_

"_I know…you can't take me with you." _

"_I can go out the front door…"_

"_You'll be outnumbered. I'm not letting you get slain, they don't know you're in here."_

It wasn't the entire night, only the last ten to fifteen minutes before he'd left. It was a timed bug, designed to operate at certain times to conserve battery power.

"You had him in here." Tom snarled at her, lifting you the blue hot water bottle he knew exactly how she'd managed to sneak him inside. "How long was he here?" Erin looked indignant; they didn't know that Vlad had been there most of the night.

"Just before the recording." She reluctantly spoke, trying her best to sound honest.

Tom let out a growl looking at his wife. Their daughter was far more resourceful than they gave her credit for it was a pity that she didn't apply that to slaying.

Steph looked across to Erin, her face full of disgust. Her daughter was wearing a robe, the vampire had seen her in it. Erin didn't flinch under their gaze, she wasn't ashamed of anything. They were the ones who should be ashamed at what they were forcing her to do.

Erin wondered how much her mother actually suspected. If they suspected anything she wondered how they could stomach the thought of what they were going to force her to do on her wedding night and not the night she'd just spent with the man she loved with her whole heart.

Steph walked over to Erin's wardrobe and yanked out jeans and a t-shirt before rummaging through her drawer for her underwear. She bundled it all into Erin's arms.

Tom moved closer and began to push Erin, "She's going to that academy – now!" Tom shoved her into the bathroom. "It's the safest place for her."

It had more defences than they had at their home. He'd never be able to get in. They'd leave her there until she had to enter the church for her wedding.

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Vlad didn't really want to suggest this but there were no other options that he could choose from. The entire room was in silence at his words. This was going a bit far to suggest this but Jonno had given him the idea. No one else knew enough about vampires and slayers.

Jonno stared at him, "You want to use them?" He couldn't believe what Vlad was suggesting; he was convinced something had happened to the young vampire while he was out.

"Look Erin told me that it was rare for slayers to have siblings, that would make them valuable wouldn't it?"

"That's not the point Vlad." Jonno snapped at him.

"Look the slayers don't know them, they'll have no idea of their connection to us. You're the only slayer who knows about them."

Jonno stood and paced, "You wiped their minds."

Finally the Count and Ingrid seemed to understand what or rather whom Vlad was suggesting.

"The Branaghs?" Ingrid asked, looking at her brother, he had gone mad.

Vlad wanted to clarify the idea he had, he didn't mean all of them. "Just Chloe and Robin."

"'JUST'?" The Count roared at Vlad, "The breathers got you into trouble before, they'll get you into trouble again." They were partly the reason the Grand High Vampire had visited them in the first place. If he hadn't visited Vlad would never have been exposed as the Chosen One until his son was ready to reveal it to the world.

Vlad's head snapped around to face his father, "I care about getting Erin out of there."

"You can undo the mind wipe?" Jonno asked Vlad cautiously, interrupting the conversation. His and Mina's had been undone by the shock of his father's death. The memories Eric Van Helsing's death had provoked had overwhelmed the mind wipe, removing it.

Vlad opened his mouth to speak but it wasn't his voice that spoke, "He prefers to pretend he can't." It was the Count muttering.

Vlad shook his head, he had good reason for that. "I did that once."

"We were stuck with a squeaky clean Renfield for four years!"

"His cooking was better this way." Vlad protested. Ingrid didn't really remember any of this at all, she assumed Renfield was the same when she'd returned to the family. He looked across at Renfield, who picked his nose and ate it. "And he was cleaner."

Mina moved forward, for the first time actively participating in the conversation. "So you should be able to undo theirs?"

The Count lifted his left index finger towards the slayers, "One minute…"

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The Count grabbed Vlad and manhandled him from the room, shoving him out of the door before slamming it closed. Vlad leaned against the wall, staring at his father.

The Count looked at Vlad, something in him had changed. Vlad was more determined than ever about this, he wasn't going to back down. Never before had he seen his son so determined, not even when he tried to get out of becoming a vampire.

"What happened with Erin?" He demanded. "You were gone seven hours." Vlad looked away not meeting his father's eyes. "You told her didn't you?" The Count spoke quietly, he knew how Vlad felt they all did.

"I told her and she feels the same about me." The way Vlad spoke it was almost as if he couldn't believe that she felt the same way about him. He looked up at his dad; the Count's gaze was soft, Vlad had never seen it like that. He looked away expecting to be scolded; when none came he spoke again. "I just couldn't leave her when she was upset." He finally answered. "She's being forced to breed slayers, she'll never be able to leave him. I know you did it to Ingrid but she got out of it and you didn't push it again. Don't leave Erin like this, please Dad." Vlad was begging him, the Count noticed the only time Vlad begged him for something was when Erin was involved.

The Count placed a reassuring hand on Vlad's shoulder; "We can get her out of their ourselves."

"I need Robin and Chloe to save her. They'll have her protected, we need someone they won't recognise." Vlad explained. "Then I can focus on getting her out of the marriage contract."

The Count looked at his son, the answer was simple, "Bite her." Vlad's eyes were full of scepticism, biting anyone didn't solve anything. "Erin wouldn't hold it against you." He told his son, Erin had lived as a half fang without complaining so he assumed she wouldn't be against it and she'd only been half joking when she'd suggested it a few days ago.

"She's technically a slayer again, if I bite her it's an act of war." Vlad shook his head, his father didn't understand. "I can't start a war, they wiped out half of our kind." Their kind could never survive a war, especially not one before he had a chance to unify them when he came of age.

Vlad needed to understand something and it was his duty to tell him, "Erin might be forced to breed slayers but you know that she won't be able to have your heirs." The Count told Vlad quietly, he wanted Vlad to know the consequences if he chose Erin. "As long as you leave her a breather you won't have an heir." He knew Vlad would never change Erin, his son valued her life too much.

Vlad answered automatically, "It's never been tried."

The Count nodded agreeing with him before looking at his son sharply, "I hope that means you haven't tried yet."

Vlad looked away feeling uncomfortable, "Course not." He had to admit it didn't sound convincing either.

The Count looked at his son, not fully sure if Vlad was telling the truth or not.

"She loves you?" The Count asked him again, vampires weren't supposed to feel love or rather they weren't supposed to admit to feeling it.

"Yeah." Vlad confirmed once more.

The Count couldn't deny his son this, Vlad had grown since meeting Erin. He knew Erin had saved their family, she'd proved her loyalty to them even if they had tried to kill her more than once to get her out of Vlad's life for good.

Vlad and Erin would face a challenge from the vampire kind, even if Vlad did change her there would away be some kind of scorn on them for her not being a pure blood vampire. Vlad had courage to let their relationship develop in the first place.

Erin had proved to be an asset for Vlad, he had someone to talk to. Over the last four years it hadn't escaped him that his son had withdrawn more and more into himself. Erin living with them had made Vlad relax and actually accept more of his nature than ever before.

He didn't want to think what Vlad would become without Erin. He'd seen Vlad retreat in those two weeks when he'd banished her. He no longer recognised his son. Vlad was prone to demonstrations of power and his temper was much shorter, he was sure it was more to do with Vlad's heart being broken at her betrayal than actual hurt.

The Count continued to study his son, he wanted to make sure that Vlad was certain in his feelings for Erin.

"Is this the only way to save her?" The Count asked Vlad.

Vlad wanted to be able to sort this out quickly and simply but nothing worth fighting for was ever dealt with easily. "I don't know what else to do."

The Count nodded giving his approval, "Then reverse the wipe."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	18. One Definite Yes

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Someone has mentioned the 'sequel' word, I'm not sure about it yet. I'll write one if other people would like to see one._

_Would anyone like to see a sequel?_

Chapter 18: One Definite Yes

Erin let out a growl as she was sat inside the headmasters office. She hated this place.

"If it isn't Noble. E." Mr Grantham spoke, looking down on her.

Erin ignored him completely, she didn't want to be here and they didn't want her here either.

Grantham was a traditional headmaster in the sense that he didn't like using pupil's Christian names he preferred to call them by their surnames then initial until the graduated. He had to be nearing retirement age soon or so she had hoped. He was greying and wore thick glasses as he looked at her. Erin was sure that if he ever smiled his face would split in half.

He was her least favourite teacher; he was the one who always reminded her of how successful her parents were and how fantastic her brother was.

He smiled at her, a disturbing sight. "I hear you're getting married, congratulations."

Erin's furious gaze snapped to his, "I don't see any congratulations in it." She looked at her finger, enjoying the fact that the ring couldn't be fixed after Vlad had broken it. She was completely free of any symbol at the moment – she wanted it to stay that way.

"Thomas, Stephanie." Gratham greeted shaking their hands, they always had been his star pupils.

Erin suddenly had a flashback of Vlad's first tutor; she'd prefer Goody McEldrich any day over Grantham.

"Algy." Her eyes widened as her father used Grantham's first name. She could have laughed but she held it back, he wasn't an Algy.

"My favourite pupils," He flattered them and the Nobles lapped it up. "So you want Erin back in the school?" He asked them, "I've arranged for her to be set up in her old dorm, with the arrangements you asked for." They really were terrified of Vlad returning. "She'll be quite safe and secure here." He smiled at them and her parents looked relieved. "Her contact with other students will be limited, not that anyone will want to talk to her after the disgrace she brought on your family."

Erin rolled her eyes, she wasn't the disgrace, they were. They were betraying their precious Guild by getting her license back illegally.

"You need to make sure she passes." Steph told Algy seriously.

"It'll be my top priority."

"Either way Andrew marries her." Tom told him, deliberately reminding Erin that her destiny was set in stone.

Erin pointedly decided to look out of the window and pretend not to listen to their conversation.

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The two slayer brought Robin and Chloe into the room, they stood in the centre glancing around at the thoroughly gothic furniture. Jonno had his slayers tell them that it was a university asking about Chloe for their programme, naturally Elisabeth Branagh had allowed Chloe to go. Robin had been asked to accompany her as Ian and Paul had moved out a few years before.

They recognised Ingrid briefly and the Count but eventually their eyes came to rest on the handsome young man in front of them.

Vlad had his arms folded and his legs slightly spread apart, it was the only thing that would stop him from tapping his feet in impatience.

"Vlad!" Robin cried out in greeting to his friend, Chloe beamed up at him, she was still smaller than him. Smaller than Erin too. Chloe's hair had darkened, she was still blonde but it was more brown now. Robin hadn't changed, his hairstyle had but nothing else about him.

"How have…" Vlad clicked his fingers there was no time for pleasantries. He didn't want to greet them with their mind wipes and then have to undo it. They needed every minute they had.

Erin's wedding was supposed to be the day before his eighteenth birthday but he couldn't take the risk that they would move it closer, he was sure they'd found he'd been in her room.

The sooner they planted Robin and Chloe in the school the sooner they could rescue her.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Jonno muttered to Vlad as he studied a frozen Robin and Chloe.

Vlad gave him a look that clearly said that he wasn't exactly sure either.

He stood in front of them both, he stooped slightly not realising that he was now taller than Robin as well it had used to be the other way round.

He hated using hypnotism, he felt his eyes begin to strain before they turned a light green. "When I click my fingers you will remember everything about me and my family." He moved across to Chloe looking at her. "When I click my fingers you will remember everything about me and my family." He repeated.

He then took two large steps backwards and clicked his fingers.

Nothing happened for the first few moments then they both jolted to life. They took a few moments to assimilate their surroundings, their gaze eventually fixing on Vlad again.

He looked different, older and more mature. His hair was different than they last remembered it had darkened up and was a lot shorter. The parting of his hair gave him a more regal look. His posture was different as well, he no longer slouched he stood tall as he looked at them.

"Vlad?" The confusion was all across their faces.

Vlad answered the only way he could. "Hey."

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Robin was angrier than Chloe, he had a right to be but Vlad wished that it had been under better circumstances.

"You hypnotised us! For four years we didn't know anything about you other than you were our friend."

"I'm sorry okay…" Vlad began.

"Sorry won't do Vlad, you were a large part of our lives for two years. I could remember some things but I couldn't remember others." Robin continued angrily at his friend.

Vlad opened his mouth to speak but Robin began to rant again. "And suddenly you're friends with slayers." He gestured to Jonno. "I thought you wanted to kill every last vampire."

Jonno told him quietly, that had never changed really but he believed in what Vlad was doing. He was willing to give peace a chance, Vlad would be an excellent ruler of his kind. "Vlad set up a truce."

"I've spent the last four years without friends. You and Chloe were the first friends I had and the last ones as well." Vlad hadn't allowed himself to form any friendships with anyone in the school. He kept everyone at arms length. He would have done the same to Erin if he had known that she was a breather at the time, as he thought she was a half fang he thought they would be friends.

"That didn't stop you running away though did it?" Chloe snapped at him, "You always ran away when things got tough." Robin nodded in agreement, there was only one occasion when he was forced to leave – Vlad didn't like to think about that often.

Vlad felt a pang, it was true but he always did it to protect them. He didn't want them being drained or turned into one of them.

"I took Vlad away the last time." His father defended making Vlad look at him in surprise. He gave his father a grateful smile, he never expected his father to defend him. "Although Vladdy had no choice but to mind wipe you all as none of you did as he asked as stayed away."

Robin had escaped to the castle when Vlad told him to stay away which meant his family had to come looking for him and Chloe had revealed what they were.

If Robin hadn't gone to the castle he wouldn't have had to mind wipe them at all.

The Count's argument quietened them completely. He did have a point, Vlad wasn't entirely to blame he was only trying to save them all.

"Why give them back to us now?" Chloe asked quietly.

Vlad wished he didn't have to ask them this, he feel he didn't deserve it after what he had done to them. "I need your help…"

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"Awesome." That was the first word out of Robin's mouth after Vlad had told them everything. Chloe hit her brother at his typical reaction. "You want us to be sent to a Slayer Academy. We get to learn how to be a slayer."

Ingrid looked up from her fingernails in complete confusion. "I thought you wanted to be a vampire?"

"I do," Robin protested, "But an actual slayer school. Learning about stakes instead of maths and PE."

Jonno decided to burst Robin's bubble, "The Academies aren't that different from human schools." They still did the curriculum subjects, they needed them as they were an essential part of blending in and everyday life in the human society. "Its boarding school so actual slaying lessons go on until six at night."

"Not cool." Robin corrected, it didn't seem so cool now. "So you want us to enrol to save this Erin." Vlad nodded resisting the urge to wince at Erin being referred to as 'this Erin'.

Jonno raised a hand in his air interrupting Robin, "I can arrange it, they'll never know what you're up to."

"And Erin is…"

"Was."

"A slayer." Robin paused as he tried to get his head around it. "And your girlfriend." Vlad nodded slowly, "You really are taking 'friends with slayers' seriously, Vlad."

Vlad shrugged, it never crossed his mind when he found out what she was. He was angry and hurt but all he wanted was to get back together with her.

"So you want us to help you get your girlfriend back?" Robin asked him quietly.

Vlad nodded, "Erin isn't a slayer and she doesn't deserve this." Vlad's voice was quiet as he spoke. "Erin lost her licence because she saved me, her parents hate that this is their way to control her. I need to do this for her."

Then Chloe said something that didn't go down to well with Vlad.

"Maybe this just means that you weren't supposed to be together." Chloe suggested lightly, Vlad needed to consider everything before risking his and their lives on this scheme. "Maybe there's someone else out there for you. Erin might be better of with a slayer."

Vlad's eyes blackened severely at Chloe's comments. "I love her." He told her bluntly.

"You've known her a few months…"

"I don't care." Vlad snapped at them angrily.

"Will you do it?" Vlad asked them, he was desperate now. He wanted to give them the choice but he didn't know what he'd do if they refused.

Robin answered. "Sure." That was one definite yes at least. Vlad smiled in relief, he really owed Robin for this. He turned to face the youngest Branagh waiting for her answer.

Chloe remained quiet. She looked up at Robin and the others. "Can I have a word with Vlad alone?" She asked them quietly.

They all looked at Vlad and he nodded.

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Vlad shuffled uncomfortably under Chloe's gaze. She scrutinised him letting her eyes linger on how much he'd changed in four years. She felt confused, she was glad at seeing Vlad once more but she hated the fact he'd dragged her back into his vampiric world.

Chloe wanted to protect her family and that meant severing all ties considering what he was. It didn't meant that she didn't stop caring about him. He was still a kind, caring man.

"You could both end up dead." Chloe told him angrily. If he left things as they were they'd both stay alive. "Erin would tell you that this…" 

Vlad's fangs lowered but he forced them back up with a caught, slapping his hand over his mouth in a feign to be polite so she wouldn't see them. "You don't even know Erin, I promised her that I'd save her, I'm not breaking that promise."

"I'm sorry." Chloe began to apologise, "You can't let yourself be killed, you're the future leader of your kind." She knew it wasn't what Vlad wanted to hear.

He folded his arms over his chest and stood up, Chloe mimicked his actions exactly. "I thought you didn't care about my world anymore?"

"You'll make a brilliant leader Vlad, you'll change your kind…"

He knew there was a 'but' coming, "But…"

"If you're to have peace then this might be the best thing for her Vlad, she's with her family now. She won't ever become one of you…" Vlad had heard enough, his fangs lowered and he had no desire to force them back. He walked away before he did something he'd regret, he needed some soy blood, hunger was making him easier to rile. "You need someone that can help you lead, that won't be scorned for being a former slayer and knows you inside and out. You can't tell me Erin can do that you've only known her a few months."

"Erin knows me inside and out, I wanted your help Chloe because I thought you were one of the best people to help. If you don't want to that's fine but don't you dare try and justify your reasons using someone you've never even met!"

Chloe grabbed his arm and pulled him back around to face her. He should have expected this from the way she was acting.

Chloe took a chance and stood on her toes, firmly pressing her lips to Vlad's.

He began to push her away but not before someone else saw it, complete anger in their voice, "VLAD!"

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Would anyone like me to write a sequel?_

_Thanks for reading._


	19. Idiot

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

I'm dedicating this chapter and the next to Didiodo as they seemed to guess where I was taking this for a short while. It was essential for the remaining chapters…

Chapter 19: Idiot

"VLAD!"

Vlad shoved Chloe back forcefully, wiping at his mouth as hard as he could.

He turned towards the sound of the voice to face Ingrid's scathing look and the disappointed expression on the Count's face.

"What do you think you are doing?" The Count roared at him, disappointed the his son would kiss Chloe when he was supposedly in love with Erin.

Vlad wanted to defend himself he'd never *never* betray Erin. "I wasn't doing anything. She kissed me!"

"And you let her!" Ingrid shouted at him, she thought she knew her brother.

"The only reason we're doing this is because you love her." The Count told his son firmly, "And she's saved our unlives more than once." That was close enough to saying that he actually liked her so Vlad accepted it. "Then we come in here and find you kissing her." He pointed at Chloe who was standing by Vlad.

Chloe clutched his arm trying to hide behind him but Vlad yanked it away from her. He didn't want her to even touch him after that stunt. He sped across the room.

"Chloe kissed me, I don't love her. I never have and I never will." Vlad told them firmly, "Erin is the only person I've ever loved." The Count looked at his son, he believed him.

Chloe looked at him, confused at his rejection. "I love you Vlad. I always have." She had always had a crush on Vlad, even when her mind was wiped that was the one thing that they'd always remembered.

The Count extended a finger to Ingrid, gesturing her to grab Chloe. "Get her out of here."

Ingrid obeyed her father for once and grabbed Chloe tightly around the shoulders.

"You still need me to save Erin, you can't trust Robin to do this on his own." She reminded them, Vlad couldn't let Robin do this, Robin had a habit of slipping up when he was under pressure. Vlad didn't like the calculating smile that crossed Chloe's face.

"What do you want?" He asked her quietly.

"I'm old enough to be a half fang bride." She told them all. She was passed the minimum age – fifteen. Vampire women could be married at fifteen as Ingrid had discovered. She looked back at Vlad, "You have a choice Vlad, either I become your Queen or Erin breeds slayers. Its up to you." Chloe told him firmly.

Vlad glanced around the room. Ingrid and the Count were shaking their heads. He needed Chloe for this; he needed her to go into the school. He couldn't do it they'd recognise him.

Vlad nodded slowly, accepting her demand. Anything to save Erin.

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Chloe jumped up into Vlad's arms hugging him. Vlad shoved her away from him. Hating the fact he even had to be near her. He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Don't touch me."

Robin chose that moment to enter, he was immediately hugged by Chloe, he wrapped his arms around his sister confused at her affectionate display and the happiness across her face.

"I'm engaged to Vlad." She told her brother happily.

Robin's voice made them all jump, everyone turned to face him. He had a big grin on his face. "So we'll be related, awesome." Ingrid shook her head before speeding from the room, this made her feel sick. Not the Branaghs 'marrying' into the family the fact that her brother had been forced to do this. "Aren't you want to kiss to seal the deal?" Robin joked with Vlad.

"Don't push it Robin." Vlad snarled at Robin.

Chloe pulled away from Robin, looking up at Vlad affection on her face. Vlad just turned and walked away from her.

The Count gestured to Bertrand, "Get the Council, Vlad's not letting himself get into this and call Jonno tell him what's jus happened." The Count snapped, Vlad would make Chloe his Queen over his dust.

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Vlad was yanked backwards, his collar digging into the front of his neck as his father grabbed it pulling him backwards.

Ingrid joined him a fraction of a second later.

"How can you do that?" The Count asked his son, "Just give up your unlife because that breather in there won't help you willingly?"

"I can't do anything about it!" Vlad shouted at them. "I need her if I'm to save Erin."

"And how is forcing yourself to take Chloe as Queen going to solve this?" The Count shouted. "This is no better than what's happening to your girlfriend."

"Dad let me talk to him." Ingrid requested. She needed to speak to Vlad alone. "You idiot what were you thinking?" Ingrid shouted at her brother, she couldn't believe Vlad could be so stupid as to accept that breather as his future queen.

"I know what I'm doing Ingrid." Vlad told her quietly.

"No you don't." She snapped at him. This was no better than what Erin had trapped herself in. "You get Erin back and then you're trapped. If you know what you're doing how do you get out of this?" Vlad remained quiet, he didn't have an answer yet.

Ingrid decided to change her tactics; confront Vlad on a more personal matter, "So just one night was enough with Erin then? If you have Chloe as your Queen you know it can never happen again." 

"What are you talking about?" Vlad didn't want to discuss this with her so he feigned ignorance.

"I can smell Erin all over you, you haven't had chance to shower." It sounded odd but they still showered as vampires, they sweated and got caked in dirt the same was breathers did, "I think every vampire from here to Trans-Siberia can smell it." She paused, before tipping her head with a small half smile. "With the exception of Dad." He wasn't exactly the most observant vampire in history.

"I kissed Erin, you've seen me do it before." Vlad protested automatically, he wasn't going to admit to more than he had to.

Ingrid looked at her brother; she saw his eyes beginning to glisten. She moved closer to him, she wanted to be careful how she said this; she didn't want to be blunt. "You've got more of her scent on you than from just kissing Vlad." Vlad hadn't given a thought about her scent being on him.

"Last night… it was the first time…" He answered, "We'd never… either of us before… I didn't take advantage… she wanted…" He couldn't tell her properly, he didn't know how to tell her. He couldn't even describe it to her.

Ingrid nodded in understanding; she pulled Vlad into her arms, rubbing his back up and down. Vlad hugged her tightly; she noticed his tears didn't fall. Vlad never cried in front of anyone.

She felt her angle triple at the young woman who was desperate to tear this chance from Vlad. Vlad wasn't the spoiled heir she always painted him to be, he was pressured and pushed in different directions. He didn't really ever have a choice. Erin was the first person who'd never demanded or expected anything from Vlad.

Vlad had actually met someone that he might as well call his soul mate, just as she once though Will had been hers. Ingrid knew hers was just a crush now, although at the time it had felt like much more.

Ingrid gently brushed his hair, her heels giving her the advantage of height. "You took the chance to be with her, don't lose it because of Chloe."

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Erin tapped her fingers of her left hand on the desk, with her right she tugged at the scratchy green turtle neck sweater of her uniform that she hated so much.

The picture on the chalkboard was a very old picture of Vlad. It was one from when he was about fourteen, his hair, while still dark, wasn't the charcoal colour that she knew so well. She could have laughed at it, she doubted any of the other slayers would really recognise him from it.

"The Chosen One has declared a truce. However when the truce fails you need to know how to identify him. The Chosen One had long black hair, much like his father Count Dracula. As you can see in this picture Vladimir Dracula's hair isn't the traditional black of the vampire world." He moved away from the picture. "He's the most powerful vampire this world has ever seen but other than that he'd like every other vampire that exists. He drinks human blood and won't let a breather live."

Erin coughed trying to hide her loud scoff at his words.

"You think you know the Chosen One Miss Noble?" Mr Tremain asked from the front, he'd obviously heard her loud scoff.

"I do actually." Erin stood and braced her hands on the desk. "He doesn't drink human blood he drinks soy, and he's not a maniac he's just like everyone else."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because he…" Erin trailed off, it wasn't a good idea to say that Vlad was her boyfriend. "well if he's like that, how come he's declared the truce?"

Tremain's mouth opened and closed a few times. He looked at Erin, "Sit down and listen, Miss Noble." Was all he could eventually say and Erin knew she'd won that small battle for now.

Then the bell went, she'd have to wait for her 'guards' until she could leave though. At least she still had Vlad's picture to look at on the board.

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Erin was escorted towards her room. She glanced down the hallway; she did a double take as she saw Jonno in the corridor.

She saw him nod to her and she knew that he was working with Vlad.

"They'll be starting here tomorrow," Jonno told Grantham loudly and deliberately for Erin's ears.

"Have they ever been to an academy before?" Algy asked Jonno.

"No, but they've been home schooled. Their parents were drained just before the truce, the oldest is nearly eighteen but it's the younger one that they're more concerned about. Their family can look after them at the weekends but not during the week."

Algy looked at Jonno, they had a great number of pupils like that. Their parents wanted to spend as much time with them as possible in case they were killed. "So they'll only be attending Monday to Friday?"

"That won't be a problem." Algy told them. "Do you know them?"

"I went to primary school with a relative of theirs. It was the relative who contacted me asking for my help."

Jonno noticed something in the classroom Erin was leaving from, he was deliberately not looking at her.

Jonno tripped, stumbling into Erin. Erin flew backwards a few steps. Jonno pressed something into Erin's hand as he felt into her. Erin stuffed it into her pocket. It was a small slither of paper. The one guard grabbed her by the elbows and helped steady her, she glanced back at him with a grateful smile.

"Noble." Jonno spat with distain as soon as he fully straightened.

"Jonno." She greeted politely back to him before moving passed him, pretending not to like him either.

Jonno shuddered, "Is see you've met Noble, E. before."

"Unfortunately." He snarled but he kept glancing at the chalkboard in the classroom.

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Her bodyguards finished escorting her to her room. The shut the door and locked it behind her. As soon as the door was locked she fished her hand into her pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper.

It wasn't much but it did tell her everything she needed to know.

Vlad was sending someone into the Academy to gain intelligence to get her out of there. She felt her heart swell, she wondered who he was going to send. It must be someone he trusted.

Erin looked at the note, noticing that it was written in fountain pen, blue at that.

She ran towards the small sink in her room and rinsed the paper under the cold tap. Immediately the ink began to run until it was impossible to make out the words and the paper was soggy. She threw it in the bin.

It was safer to destroy the letter than to chance anyone seeing it.

"HE'S DONE WHAT?" Echoed around the parking area. She ran to the window in time to see Jonno snap his phone down. There was only one person Jonno could have been talking about.

Erin panicked, what had Vlad done?

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	20. The Triggering Of A Plan

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._ _I'm writing a sequel so I'm going to carry over some of the suggestions of what people would like to see into the sequel. I haven't decided on a name for it yet but it will take place directly at the end of this one._

_I apologise to Chloe fans for the way I'm treating her character again._

_I've touched on it a little in this fic but would anyone like me to develop Bertrand and Ingrid's relationship in the sequel?_

Chapter 20: The Triggering of A Plan

Ingrid watched her brother from the doorway of his room; he didn't seem to have even noticed her. His knees were drawn up around his chin, his face buried in them. She watched as his shoulders shook. She knew he was crying.

Jonno stormed towards Vlad's room, he needed to give the young vampire a piece of his mind from what his mother had told him. How could Vlad be so stupid?

He jumped up the steps to see Ingrid and Bertrand waiting outside Vlad's room.

"What's going on?" He asked, "Apart from Vlad being a prat." He rarely used that word but it summed up Vlad in that moment. He looked beyond Ingrid to see Vlad huddled on his sofa; he'd never seen the young vampire so vulnerable.

"We're trying to sort it." Ingrid told him before looking back at Bertrand, "He can't do this." She whispered lowly, "It'll destroy him." She might have wanted that in the past but now it was pointless.

"He needs Erin." Bertrand agreed with her slowly. "He's sacrificing everything to enter this marriage."

"Vlad doesn't realise that it's pointless if they can't be together." Ingrid shook her head at her brother; he never did what he wanted himself. He always thought of other people but in this case it wouldn't matter if they couldn't be together.

Ingrid shook her head deciding then and there that she was going to but a stop to this before it really began.

Ingrid strode towards her little brother, her heels clicking against the floor as she neared him.

"When are they leaving Vlad?" Ingrid asked him quietly, placing a hand on his shoulders making him jump but he didn't lift his head up.

His voice was muffled, "Now."

Ingrid looked across at Bertrand who nodded; in a flash they'd both left the room.

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Bertrand shoved Chloe into the throne room. "What are you doing?" Chloe yelped as she hit the table with full force. She would end up with a bruised him. "I'm trying to save Erin."

"I won't have a breather for a Queen." Bertrand snarled at her.

Chloe couldn't believe the hypocrite in front of her. "But you'll have a former slayer?"

"Yes." He answered, if their relationship ever got that far he'd gladly have a slayer for a Queen compared to a blackmailer. He circled Chloe slowly.

"Vlad will kill you when he finds out you've taken me." She folded her arms of her chest, "He loves…" 

Bertrand leaned into her face, "Erin. Vlad loves Erin." He lowered his fangs intimidating her. "Vlad would never love you, are you really that desperate to have him that you don't care about his happiness? You're more of a vampire than any of us can ever be." She was an insult to their kind.

Ingrid sped into the room with Robin in tow; she was gentler with him.

"This wasn't Vlad's idea?" Robin asked looking between Chloe and Bertrand, he'd heard Bertrand's final words to his sister.

Chloe had told him Vlad had admitted his feelings for her but felt guilty about how Erin had been forced into this because she was dating him. He wanted to free her before dumping her.

"This was never Vlad's idea. Vlad can't hypnotise Erin so its how we know he's in love with her."

Robin was confused, "So he isn't in love with Chloe?"

Suddenly Chloe froze, tears glistening in her eyes. They looked at the source of the freeze. "No I'm not." Vlad's face was cold, no one could tell what he was thinking. Robin had never seen his friend looking like this.

Vlad had only followed them because he didn't want them getting carried away and spilling breather blood. Jonno was a few steps behind him.

He turned to step in front of Chloe, he clicked his fingers removing the hypnotism from her. Chloe shook her head looking up at him.

Before Vlad could speak again, two shadows blurred into the room.

Both wore matching angry expressions on their faces.

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Everything seemed to click in place as Vlad's eyes narrowed at the two elders in front of him. He'd think of something on his own he didn't need their help.

"You went behind my back!" Vlad shouted angrily as he looked at the two vampires in front of him. Augustus and Atilla – they were the only members of the Council the Count had summoned. The need for secrecy was vital. 

"We're not letting you lose everything." The Count told his son, he wasn't going to let him lose Erin because of Chloe.

"They can stop me and Erin…" Ingrid hit her brother hard, cutting him off completely before he said too much in front of the Council although the situation had been explained in depth. They'd been informed about Erin's betrayal as Vlad wanted to make sure she was protected, but they hadn't been told about their relationship.

"Being with that breather will stop you being together. There are other options Vlad, you being with Chloe won't save her, in the end neither of you will be happy."

Vlad shook his head his sister didn't understand, "Look its only until I get Erin back…" His hissed lowly so Chloe couldn't pick up his words.

"You seriously think Chloe won't tell Erin? She's got what she wants why does she need to save Erin? How do you think she's going to feel when she finds out?"

Knowing Erin she'd refuse to be saved to spare him being bound to Chloe.

"What else am I supposed to do?" Vlad asked them all quietly.

"Not bind yourself to her for a start." Ingrid snapped at her brother.

"I'm not having her as a daughter in law." The Count told him sharply, "So the Council has come up with a few conditions before you can even think about binding yourself to her."

"We want to see the girl who wants to be our Queen." Vlad nodded slowly, if this would help him in any way he might as well let it happen. Not that he had a choice; he didn't want treason before he'd even taken control of their kind.

Chloe smiled widely at them, she held her hand out. "Chloe Branagh." Atilla glared at her grandson, he couldn't be so stupid. She could see the distain he had for the breather in front of her. She hadn't been impressed with this breather five years ago either.

"How do you feel about vampires?" The first question.

"I love Vlad."

"Vlad's not our kind, how do you feel about vampires?" Chloe looked away, she wouldn't answer, "I WANT AN ANSWER!" Atilla yelled at her, but Chloe didn't answer.

"You do know you'll have to become a half fang?" She questioned the young girl, there was no way this girl in front of her could make an effective Queen. She was weak.

"I'm ready for it."

Atilla smirked extending her fangs for the young woman, she leaned closer to her neck. Chloe immediately covered her neck with her hand, stopping her from trying to bite her.

"If Vlad takes you as his Queen he'll be a laughing stock." Augustus interrupted, looking at the Count. This was exactly what the Count wanted to hear. "I forbid it." He answered. The Count smirked, this was going better than he hoped.

"I suppose Erin would make a better Queen then." Chloe snapped sarcastically, she doubted that they would want Erin as Queen either.

Atilla didn't like the idea of a half fang as Queen but Erin would be a trophy as Vlad had 'turned' her against the slayers, at least that's what she'd say if she was ever asked. She knew the scandal a pure blood wife could bring; she'd seen it happen with her daughter and the Count. Vlad needed someone he could trust and if this Erin was that person then she'd agree to it.

Besides if Vlad was willing to sacrifice his unlife for the former slayer then they knew he wouldn't accept another. It was better to side with the most powerful vampire that ever existent than go against it.

"If my grandson chooses to have a half fang as Queen then she's the only one I will allow him to have. Augustus has met her before so he knows her character," She was referring to the Carpathian Feast, although Augustus had only seen her briefly. "Erin Noble," Atilla began to explain her reasoning, "Saved my grandson and grandaughter's unlives. She turned on the slayers to save the Chosen One and his family."

Chloe immediately tried to defend herself. "I've saved them before…"

"But they had to ask you for your help each time. You never did it on your own."

"By our law, Vlad can't transform you until he's eighteen and his Queen must be a vampire."

"And by our laws that will start a war." Mina answered; Vlad couldn't bite anyone without permission. "We'd have to slay him." Chloe shook her head, Vlad couldn't be slain. "Its in the Truce. If Vlad picks a bride we have to make sure she won't affect the Truce."

Atilla glared at Mina in return for her suggesting slaying the Chosen One even though it was in the terms agreed to in the Truce.

"By scent Vlad has already chosen his future bride and its not you." Atilla had detected Erin's scent all over Vlad. The Count's eyes narrowed as he looked at Vlad, his son had lied but at the moment it served them well. He strangely didn't feel too angry about it, usually he would have felt betrayed but the young couple were under a lot of pressure and he knew both of them had considered the consequences. "Vampires don't 'date', they chose a worthy woman. By what the Regent and this clan tells me Vlad's already found a bride."

Chloe looked at Vlad who was wearing a strange expression that she mistook for him being cornered. Ingrid saw it as well and recognised it as the faint signs of hope on his face.

"So you'll consider to let Vlad have Erin but not me?" Chloe asked them bluntly, she couldn't believe this Vlad didn't have a choice.

The Count could see that Chloe was genuinely beginning to believe that Vlad didn't have a say so her blackmail wouldn't work.

Atilla dodged the question. "Vlad's bride will have to be agreed by the Council, it's not just his choice. Vlad needs a bride that he and others will respect. It's the only time a woman needs to be strong and as you can't answer our questions it can't be you. Vlad's decision affects us all."

Augustus raised a hand, "Also it won't be a marriage, for the Chosen One it'll be a mating. It won't last the standard mortal fifty years it'll last centuries."

That was news to Vlad and the others; it made sense as he'd be used to set an example for his kind. He'd be expected to set an example in marriage.

It was like a light bulb had turned on in Jonno's head. Something they had said had given him an idea, an idea that they might just be able to get away with – something that would still need them to get into the school but would null and void Chloe's blackmail completely.

Jonno lifted up a hand, "It was what the three of you just said…there might be another way to save Erin – without Vlad being forced into this."

Ingrid waved her hand in the air, making a silencing gesture, "What other way?" Ingrid asked completely confused, she didn't have a clue what they'd said that made Jonno suddenly have an idea.

He grinned at Vlad widely, "One that might work in favour of both our kinds."

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Would anyone like to see me develop Bertrand and Ingrid's relationship in the sequel?_

_Thanks for reading._


	21. Permanent Truce

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

Chapter 21: Permanent Truce

Everyone in the room stared at Jonno, they were waiting for him to tell them his idea.

Jonno looked around the room, "Is there somewhere we can talk privately?" He asked Vlad. What he was about to suggest had never been done before and he wasn't sure how Vlad would react. Chloe and Robin in the room wouldn't help matters at all.

Ingrid seemed to understand what Jonno was asking immediately. "The training room." She suggested looking across at Bertrand, realising that she hadn't asked him before offering his private domain.

"I'll keep an eye on these two." He offered, he'd enjoy this a little too much watching as Robin gulped and Chloe shook.

Chloe stepped towards Vlad instinctively and he moved further away from her, "I'm coming with Vlad, I'll be his Queen so I need to know…"

Chloe still hadn't got the message that the Council would never permit her to become Vlad's Queen.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" The Count roared at Chloe, Chloe jumped back before "Before I drain you breather."

Vlad didn't contest it; he didn't even look at his father once to tell him off with a glance.

"Vlad…" Chloe began again, this time Vlad reacted. He lowered his fangs as he turned to face her, he wished he'd never undone her mind wipe. Unfortunately it was clear her feelings had grown even with the wipe in place – it was possible as she remembered him but not the vampiric part of him.

"Shut up Chloe." Her eyes widened and she was truly terrified of Vlad in this state.

Vlad nodded to Jonno and fled from the room as fast as he could. Ingrid followed him a split second later with the Count and the two Council members.

Jonno and Mina looked at each other rolling their eyes; the vampires would have to wait as they couldn't speed. They set off at a brisk jog towards the training room.

Chloe went to follow them but Bertrand blocked the doorway with a smile, he wasn't going to let her follow them at any cost.

Chloe turned away from him, he had no right to do this to her as Vlad's 'fiancée', regardless of what the Council had said. Vlad would make them see sense before long.

She sat herself down on the floor with a thump. Ignoring the disappointed glances her brother was sending her every ten seconds.

"What?" She eventually asked Robin.

He didn't hesitate in confronting her, "You tried to blackmail Vlad into taking you as Queen?"

"I made Vlad realise that he's using her as a substitute me." She told him defiantly. He used to like me. She looked down at her hands, she wasn't going to let Robin's words affect her.

"As a friend Chloe, he hypnotised you. He doesn't love you."

"You like the idea of him being your brother in law." She pointed out.

Yes he had liked the idea, until he realised that Vlad would be unhappy with Chloe. He couldn't believe he'd been so blind as to actually believe Chloe when she told him that Vlad had admitted he loved her. "Until I was told that you blackmailed him." He growled at her, he couldn't believe his little sister would do this to Vlad. "He deserves to be happy with Erin, not you Chloe. He's a full vampire now Chloe, I wouldn't push him too far." Robin was unsure what Vlad's temper was like now.

"Vlad won't hurt me, he won't use his powers on me." Chloe was sure of that. Robin wasn't as sure, they didn't know the seventeen-year-old Vlad, he knew the fourteen-year-old version and Chloe knew the thirteen-year-old version.

"His family will." Robin knew the Count and Ingrid would. He glanced up at Bertrand, this vampire seemed more fearsome than the others. He looked the kind to bite first ask questions later. Not to mention the fact Vlad hadn't contradicted the Count when he threatened to drain Chloe. He used to say 'friends aren't food', not this time though.

Robin closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the chair he was sitting in. This chair wasn't as damp as the once the castle used to have, it was also far more comfortable.

Chloe watched as Bertrand paced the room slowly. She slowly reached into the back pocket of her jeans pulling something out.

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Once everyone was settled in the training room Jonno began to speak, he was still nervous about suggesting this idea.

"There is a way that might make the Truce more permanent."

"I thought this was supposed to help Erin?" Vlad interrupted quickly.

"I'm getting there." Jonno immediately defended himself. "The only way that we *might* be able to undo the contract is make a new one." Jonno told him gently. "We make a new contract to make the Truce more permanent."

Ingrid was now confused. "You want a contract between Vlad and a slayer so he doesn't have to have Chloe as Queen?"

"That girl is never being Queen!" Atilla snapped, she'd never bow to someone who was terrified of their kind and only wanted Vlad, there was no way she'd take the vampires' best interests to heart.

If Vlad married her he'd lose the loyalty of his remaining supporters on the Council. She would never allow it, they'd make sure Chloe was out of the picture before she even came close to marrying Vlad.

"No we make the contract between you and Erin." Jonno told her, this way he could say that the Truce was permanent – a slayer and a vampire. He gestured to his mum and Atilla. "They just said that whoever Vlad picks must be agreed on by both cultures."

"As Vlad's already chosen his mate, without the Council's consideration, it'd have to be Erin." Atilla spoke, she still wasn't amused at Vlad's choice but she knew nothing would sway him. "She'd be far more suitable for him if he *has* to have a half fang because of what she did to the slayers."

Vlad bristled slightly at his gran's words.

"And if we agree that Erin can be the only bride for Vlad that we'll allow because she won't let him drain us and she'll preserve the peace, we can draw up a marriage contract making it official and effective immediately. Erin wouldn't have to marry Andrew, she would marry Vlad."

They all looked at Vlad as he walked across the room, he braced his hands on the training horse. He didn't comment at all.

"This would make their contract useless, this would override it as it would become important in securing the peace between our two kinds. You're the only person who can guarantee peace so of course you'll be the vampire in the contract and Erin could…"

The Count moved forward, "Doing that would make it a morganatic marriage." This wasn't the best answer to Vlad's situation.

Jonno was confused, "So?"

"Vlad's a ruler, Erin isn't." The Count decided to point out a problem with that, "Any children they had wouldn't have a claim to Vlad's throne, or the clan throne." If Vlad didn't have an heir their kind would be sucked into a power vacuum should he ever be slain. It would be a disaster for their kind.

"I don't care about the clan throne." Vlad whispered quietly, one throne was bad enough.

"But you need to think about the future of our kind. You need an heir." The Count told his son firmly. Vlad needed someone to take over from him at some point.

"Why can't it be a dynastic marriage?"

"Still the same problem Erin isn't nobility but Vlad is." Vlad snorted at that, he wasn't 'nobility' it was a fluke that he was the Chosen One.

"He's not the ruler yet…"

Ingrid raised a hand gingerly into the air. "But you know Vlad has to be eighteen to marry or mate, on his birthday he automatically becomes the ruler."

"We can sort out the details later. If this stops that girl being Queen then that's what's important." Atilla snapped. Everyone in the room nodded, as long as the type of marriage wasn't specified in the contract then they had a loophole. Atilla moved forwards, closer to Jonno. "There will be conditions, for a start Erin will have to be a half fang." She'd never met the girl but she'd heard a lot about her and she'd be more trustworthy to them if she had betrayed the slayers for Vlad, her loyalty was already clear which couldn't be said about other vampire females. Vlad needed someone he could trust, if he'd fallen in love she knew Vlad trusted Erin.

Jonno let out a breath he had been hoping they'd been bluffing when they'd said that. He looked at Mina and she nodded, if Erin was to spend her life with Vlad it was only fair that their lifespans matched.

Jonno looked at them, they needed a concession as well. "You need to remember that Erin will have to have her license back automatically for her to be classed as a slayer for the contract."

"No." Vlad interrupted them from where he was standing. Everyone turned to face him, confusion across their faces. He should want this. "The answer is no."

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Vlad looked up at them, it was a solution but it wasn't the one he wanted. He wasn't going to do this to her.

"You've got no right to decide this behind our backs." He told them shaking his head, they couldn't solve one arranged marriage with another. "You can't decide our lives."

"Vlad you can be together this way…"

Vlad shook his head frantically, this made him feel sick. "If I force Erin to marry me I'm no better than her parents."

Jonno shook his head, "You're not forcing her to marry you. Your presenting her with another option, you know Erin would rather marry you than Andrew."

"So it'll be me or him." Vlad ground out angrily, "Either way she ends up married. Neither of us are eighteen, this isn't fair on her."

"Are you saying you'd never want to marry her?" Ingrid asked him softly.

Vlad's eyes flashed dangerously, "It won't be a marriage remember, it'll be a mating." He looked around the room; no one could meet his eyes. "I'm not going to have her hate me for this." That was his fear that Erin would hate the decision, she'd be bound to him permanently with a mating.

"You're right." Ingrid spoke, looking around the room.

"What?" Five voices shouted looking at her. The only person who didn't seem as confused was the Count, instead he looked – proud. For the first time Ingrid felt her eyes begin to water, her father was proud for taking her brother's feelings into consideration.

"We can't decide for her. Vlad has to ask her." Ingrid told them all quietly, Vlad's honour wouldn't demand anything less. Erin needed to have the option. This decision affected her whole life, being transformed would mean centuries to be considered not the next fifty years or so. "It'll be her choice then, then Vlad will give an answer."

Mina shook her head, they hadn't got the time to draw up the contract, get it signed and get it pushed through before her parents found out. "We haven't got the time…"

"You can start to draw it up but that doesn't mean we'll both agree to it." The Council and Regent nodded it was better than nothing, at lest something would be done. "If Erin agrees then the date of the marriage will be after she's twenty one." Vlad told them seeing Jonno and Mina nod in agreement. He wasn't just saying that for their laws though. "And any heirs would inherit." He spoke quietly.

Mina was scribbling it all down quickly so that nothing was forgotten. "Anything else?"

"If she agrees to do this, I'll be the one to transform her." Vlad spoke quietly; he didn't want anyone else doing it. He knew the loyalty wouldn't take effect because she was already loyal and a bite couldn't override that – love was the ultimate form of loyalty.

Vlad didn't have to bite anyone to transform them; the Grand High Vampire could delegate the task to someone else. Augustus began, "You don't drink…"

Vlad's eyes blackened immediately, "I'll do it, no one else." If it was to happen to Erin, he'd rather he was the one to do it. He knew he'd be careful if he had to do it. Biting to transform was intimate and usually only done between lovers, he didn't want anyone else doing such an intimate thing to her.

Jonno raised his arm finding a flaw in the plan, "How are you going to ask her? You'll need to get her out of the academy even quicker than before to ask her…" He saw the gleam in Vlad's eye. "Vlad, its too dangerous…"

Vlad looked at them, "Two people will still be going, but not Chloe."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	22. Ian

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Eight chapters to go after this…_

_Someone suggested for the sequel bringing in Olga and Ivan. Would anyone else like to see that?_

Chapter 22: Ian

Erin leaned backwards against the chair of the classroom. She'd heard all of this before and she felt more disgusted than before. She was sure that before two months was up that she'd be pulling her hair out.

"The best place to slay a vampire is through their heart…" The teacher, Erin hadn't bothered to learn her name she was new this year, trailed off slowly. "Who are you?" Erin didn't bother to look up she continued to stared at the ceiling finding an interesting spider on the ceiling she watched it move along the wall.

"Robin and Ian Branagh. The new students." Erin's heart skipped a beat, she knew that voice anywhere. She looked towards Ian Branagh.

'Ian' glanced at her and smiled softly. Erin immediately took her eyes from him. A slight smile crossed her face and she looked down. He looked ever so strange in slayer's gear. The turtleneck seemed to make him uncomfortable. She was right no one seemed to recognise him from his out of date picture.

All eyes seemed to be immediately on him, the girls stared at him not that she was surprised at their reaction. She was convinced a few of them were drooling slightly.

"Take a seat at the back, I'm afraid there's only one seat available. Next to Miss Noble, who I'd advise you to not talk to. I'm afraid one of you will have to wait at the back until the end of the lesson."

Erin watched Robin look at her, a slightly wide-eyed expression on his face as he finally got to put a face to the name. She gave him a small nod; 'Ian' sat next to her. She jumped as he briefly found her hand, squeezing it lightly before letting go before anyone noticed.

She had another reason to want the lesson to end quickly.

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Erin practically ran back to her room as soon as the bell went but she had to remember that her guards couldn't suspect anything.

"Vlad?" She whispered, looking around the room. Vlad emerged from the shadows and a smile blossomed across her face.

Erin immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him close. Vlad chuckled, embracing her just as fiercely.

Vlad leaned down, closing the distance and kissed her softly and slowly. Erin sighed into his mouth as he deepened the kiss, tugging slightly on the turtleneck he wore.

Erin stepped back as she felt something warming her chest, she couldn't work out what it was. Vlad wasn't warmer than her.

"You're warm, how?" She questioned lightly, he pulled a small device from under his shirt. Erin looked at it. Thermal heat pads. That's how he'd fooled the sensors that the corridors were equipped with.

"If you're here then Jonno told you there were no up to date pictures of you." She guessed and he nodded slowly. She knew Jonno had been looking behind her at the picture that had still been on the board when he'd deliberately walked into her. "I thought you were sending someone else?" She was confused.

Vlad looked down at her slightly, he cupped her face. Jonno had told him grudgingly about the pictures after realising Vlad couldn't be swayed from going with Robin. Vlad wanted to ask her in person. "I needed to talk to you." He didn't want to tell her yet though, he didn't want to overwhelm her just yet.

Erin looked frantically at the locked door and the window. "It was still a risk to come here. If they find out what you are…" 

"I can mimic breathing." He assured her, "I have a scent like you…"

Erin didn't care about that, there were sensors everywhere the heat pads wouldn't last for long. "You're colder than us. The heat pads won't last forever."

"I have hand warmer ones as well, I can warm up the water whenever I need to." He whispered pressing his forehead to hers. "I can recharge them and use them constantly."

There was a more deadly problem being at the school though, "What about sunlight?"

"You don't train in the sunlight, Jonno told me." It was true they trained indoors to stop people from seeing what they were up to. Even though there were no houses nearby there was still a chance of helicopters and low flying planes that might be able to see what they were doing. They needed to keep their existence a secret.

"We eat garlic all the time…"

Vlad gently rubbed her arms up and down, "I'll be fine. Jonno made a note that I'm allergic to garlic but I have to take a substitute instead. He's given me soy blood pills, they won't know what they are. Not every slayer can have garlic."

There were still too many dangers for him, "If there's a fire drill…"

"Erin!" Vlad cut her off, kissing her slowly. Erin responded automatically just as Vlad knew she would forgetting what she was arguing about. "Everything will be fine. I know it's a risk but I'm here, I'm not leaving you alone anymore. We're here to get you out." He brushed a lock of blonde hair back into place behind her ear.

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Erin played with the hem of the khaki turtleneck Vlad wore, tracing patterns on his stomach. The coarse material felt strange through her fingers, she was used to seeing him in soft cotton.

Vlad gently grasped her left hand lifting it up. "They didn't fix it then?" He had a faint smile as he spoke.

"It can't be fixed," She grinned at him, "You did a good job when you broke it." She didn't miss it at all. The only thing that was bothering her was that her hand felt a lit lighter now and it was a strange sensation.

Her parents had been furious but they couldn't prove she had broken it. She didn't know what Andrew thought of it yet and she didn't care.

"Jonno thinks he has a way to get you out of this," Vlad whispered to her, "Its not worth it though."

Erin lifted her head up from his chest and rested her head on her elbow. "What is it?"

"You'd lose everything." He couldn't look at her, Erin gently grasped his chin and turned his face to look at her.

"Vlad I'm already going to lose everything if I have to go through with this."

Vlad sat up suddenly, making her fall slightly as the bed shifted. "Not your life though."

Erin's brows furrowed and she was completely confused. "I don't understand."

"Jonno thinks he can stop what your parents are doing by making the Truce stronger and more permanent."

Erin's answer was immediate, if it made Vlad's unlife more secure, "Then do it."

Vlad shook his head, "You don't even know what it is."

Erin sat up on her knees, turning around to face his back. "If it'll protect your kind then you have to do it…"

"It's a marriage." Vlad interrupted her and immediately Erin froze. "To you."

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Vlad closed his eyes and filled his lungs with air, the relaxing technique still worked on vampires.

"Vlad?" Erin asked him quietly, she wasn't sure what else to say to him. Vlad didn't turn toward her so she crawled across to him losing her balance a few times as the mattress moved under the shifting weight. Erin placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Jonno thinks that it might be the only way to break the contract. A Truce Marriage Contract will overrule the one that's been signed by your parents. You're the slayer, I'm the vampire. The slayers and the Council would sign it as we're both under eighteen…"

"Okay." She told him brushing his cheek from behind.

"I told him it wasn't going to work, I'm not going to force you into anything…"

While Vlad was speaking she climbed off the bed and walked around it. She then gently sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. Vlad's went to instinctively support her. Erin kissed him lightly cutting him off. "No Vlad, I'm saying 'okay'. I'll do it."

"You don't even know what the consequences would be."

"I don't care." She smiled slowly at him.

"You'll be forced to become one of us." His eyes screwed up tightly as he spoke. He never wanted that to happen to her, she'd be forced to a life in solitude like the rest of them.

Erin kissed his closed eyes softly, "I can handle it Vlad." He opened them slowly to look at her. "I don't care about it, if it means I can be with you. When would it have to happen?"

"Whenever you're ready." He told her gently. "I can't transform you legally until I'm eighteen." Ingrid had transformed will at sixteen but women were classed as adults first as they were married off first.

"The marriage would be when you turn twenty one, slayer condition and mine."

She couldn't understand why he'd wait three years unless… "Were you scared if I said yes I'd change my mind?"

"I want you to make sure this is what you want. I'm already forcing you into this…"

"The fact you came here to ask me proves that you're not forcing me into this." Erin reached down her shirt, grabbing the silver chain resting there and pulled out the ring holding it in front of his face. "You have no idea how much I've wished this was an engagement ring over the last few days. That it was you I was engaged to not Andrew." She let it rest on top of her shirt.

Vlad looked ever so shy as he looked up at her, the picture made her smile softly. "Really?"

"Really." She confirmed before her face fell, her voice dropping to nothing more than a whisper, "Unless you don't want it."

"I love you Erin," He looked down, "Vampires don't 'date'," He admitted quietly, he had hoped never to tell her this, "Whoever they chose they usually end up mated to."

Her lips had a faint smile, "And you chose me?"

"I wanted to be normal, go on a date find someone my own way but I found you and I just turned out to be like a normal vampire. I'm sorry Erin." He felt guilty that things had turned out this way.

Erin cupped his face, "I've never dated anyone either. I don't care about being with anyone else Vlad. I only want to be with you."

"I don't want anyone else either." He took a deep breath, "So we'll go through with the contract?"

Erin nodded, blushing slightly. "Yeah."

Vlad ran a hand through his hair, he was feeling nervous now. "The only way this'll work is if it's done without your parents knowing about it." Vlad whispered.

This was a different form of contract being one for a permanent Truce, no matter their age they would need to say they agreed to it and sign it themselves as her parents wouldn't be involved in it. Jonno and Mina could sign it in the place of her parents, and the Regent and Atilla would sign it on Vlad's side for family. Underneath they would sign their names for the corresponding side vampire or slayer.

"Then it needs to be done quickly."

He nodded, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers, "We need to get you out of here."

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A sudden knocking on the door had them jumping apart. It was the middle of the night. Vlad clicked his fingers and the door unlocked. Erin was glad he was here, she could get out of her room if he used that vampiric power.

Robin dashed into the room, his hand across his eyes. He would have hit the wall if Erin hadn't grabbed him and stopped him inches from it. In his other hand was a small netbook laptop.

"I'm not looking and I won't until you're dressed." He promised, his voice slightly strained as he shuddered.

"We are dressed Robin." Vlad told him with a sigh, Erin rolled her tongue in her mouth trying to stop herself from laughing. Vlad raised an eyebrow at her trying to look serious but the sight of her struggle made him fight to stop laughing as well.

Robin slowly separated his middle and forth finger, looking cautiously before completely lowering his hand from his face. "Don't you have anything else to wear?" He asked looking at the pair of them, he'd changed already. "You look like tweedledum and tweedledee."

Vlad rolled his eyes, first Robin was worried they weren't dressed now he was moaning that they were dressed the same.

The young vampire folded his arms over his chest, "What do you want Robin?"

Robin opened up the netbook and placed it on Erin's dresser. He pressed the power button taking it off standby. After quickly typing in the password, a secure link to the school came up on the screen quickly followed by a picture of Jonno.

Jonno was nervously shuffling from side to side, looking around the screen. He checked his watch before realising that they were there. He was clearly impatient.

"What's wrong?" Vlad asked the clearly nervous slayer, Jonno looked worried.

Jonno nodded to someone off screen and immediately Chloe was shoved in front of the camera. Jonno grabbed her bicep in a vicelike grip holding her to him so she couldn't escape.

There would be only one reason he would bring her in front of the camera. "What's she done?" He hissed at Jonno, Vlad glanced down at Chloe before his gaze flickered back to the digital image of the slayer. Fury and disgust across his face.

Erin knew something had gone down, she wasn't sure whether to ask him yet.

"I'm sorry Vlad." Jonno whispered to him. "She got hold of a phone…" Vlad's head snapped to Chloe, that couldn't be good; Chloe was one of the brightest people he knew. "She managed to hack into the Guild and get Erin's parents' number."

"Did she contact them?" Vlad needed to know.

Chloe grinned at him, "Not yet." He wasn't sure whether to believe her or not.

"She didn't send a message, Bertrand managed to stop her." Jonno told him, immediately relief covered Vlad's face.

Erin looked at Vlad, she'd never seen this level of anger on his face before, not even when he'd found out she was a slayer.

Erin laced her fingers with Vlad's, squeezing his hand tightly. "Who is she Vlad?"

Chloe had a big grin on her face as she looked at Erin, she had nothing to lose now, she waved on the screen, "Chloe Branagh, Vlad's Queen."

Erin dropped Vlad's hand stepping away from him.

Hurt all across her face.

"It's not what you think…" Vlad began, pleading with her to listen. He hadn't got around to telling Erin about Chloe yet, he needed to talk about the contract first. Besides it had all been null and voided by the Council – only she didn't seem to realise that.

Erin didn't want to know, she turned and bolted from the room.

Vlad sent a harsh look towards the screen, Chloe looked ever so innocent on it.

Then a scream echoed around the academy.

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Would anyone like me to bring in Olga and Ivan like I did in my saga?_

_Thanks for reading._


	23. Getting Out

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_This chapter was tricky to type…_

_I have to say I used to like Chloe but I think the episode with the Staff of Carpathia was the one that changed my opinion of the character. After that I couldn't stand her anymore. I'm not sure why I just found I wasn't a fan of her anymore._

Chapter 23: Getting Out

Vlad sped out of the room as fast as he could as soon as he heard the scream.

In front of him he saw Erin struggling to break free from a tall figure.

As soon as he stopped alarms started blaring. He winced slightly but they didn't affect his ears in the same way that the Guild's did.

A quick glance upwards made him notice the motion cameras, they must have detected his faster than human speed.

"Get away from her." Vlad snapped at the figure.

Erin's feet slid along the floor as she was pulled backwards and further away from him. The grip of the boots doing nothing to prevent herself from being dragged. Erin wanted to bite the arm around her but it was too low being wrapped around her shoulders.

"I have a right to see my fiancée." Erin's eyes widened in panic, she struggled harder against him now she knew it was Andrew but he'd taken precautions this time as she tried to kick his shin. He was wearing protective armour complete with shin pads.

He obviously knew what Erin would try.

"Let me go Andrew." She spat out at him.

Andrew looked at her leaning down; she could smell his minty breath. "Not until you've been taught a lesson, wife. I also need to give you your new ring." He grabbed her left hand yanking it upwards. Erin struggled, succeeding in bringing it back down to her side.

"I'm not your wife."

"Not yet."

"Leave her alone." Vlad began menacingly, he stepped forwards there was no point in trying to hide who he was now, not while the alarms were blaring.

Andrew looked at the young vampire, "Who are you?" Erin's gaze snapped to Vlad's, she couldn't believe Andrew was that ignorant either.

"The Chosen One." He spoke his mouth opening to reveal four, sharp, white, glistening fangs. He tipped his head slightly.

Erin could feel Andrew shaking at Vlad's power display, this man was supposed to be an experienced slayer. There was something strange about this. "Your vampire?"

Erin grinned at Vlad, she could see in his eyes he wouldn't pounce on Andrew unless he had to but Andrew didn't know that. "Yes *my* vampire. Vladimir Dracula." She pronounced his name in its correct dialect; Vlad smiled at her, no one outside of the vampire community had ever managed to say his name correctly with the inflections in the correct place.

Andrew relaxed his grip for a split second before tightening it before Erin could escape. "How does he feel about you getting married?"

"Erin's not marrying you."

"It's contractual." He grinned, "She doesn't have a choice. Think of all those little slayers running around…"

Vlad's eyes darkened as he shot forwards towards Andrew, Andrew's eyes widening in fear. He'd pushed the vampire too far.

"Vlad, don't." Erin shouted abruptly making Vlad stop in his tracks. "Don't give him a reason to slay you."

Vlad nodded slowly, Andrew smirked at his narrow escape but he couldn't resist taunting him. "He's a coward then."

Vlad let out a hiss and a spit at the implication, he wasn't a coward he just preferred that no one got hurt.

Andrew decided to ponder, "How will he react to this I wonder?"

Vlad's brow furrowed in confusion before everything became clear as Andrew twisted Erin's head around with his right hand. Firmly kissing her before Vlad could stop him. Erin tried to scream but she couldn't, she went to bit his lip again but he was being too forceful, she didn't want his tongue in her mouth.

Vlad's eyes narrowed and in a flash Andrew was thrown across the corridor and away from Erin. Erin scrubbed at her mouth, shuddering as she did so.

Andrew cried out as his back impacted against the solid brick wall, cracks were revealed as he slid down it to rest on the floor in a heap.

"That was awesome!" A voice came from behind him; Vlad jumped not realising that Robin had been behind him. "I can see why she doesn't want to marry him."

Vlad glared at his friend, "Erin didn't have a choice until now." He sped towards Erin, placing a tender hand on her neck forcing her to turn to face him. He could see the silent tears running down her face, a mixture of Andrew's actions and Chloe's words to blame.

"You okay?" His ears were really beginning to ring from the sound of the alarms now.

"Yeah." She nodded; Vlad wiped her cheeks, kissing her forehead lightly. Erin closed her eyes and relaxed feeling his comforting gesture making her feel safe.

The alarms stopped but only to be replaced by the familiar clicks of stake firing crossbows. There were about nine of them, judging by the sound. There was no point in trying to run; Vlad wouldn't be able to get out of here alive.

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The young vampire was forcibly seated in Grantham's office next to Erin. They fang cuffed him to the chair compared to the cable tie restraints that Erin and Robin had. Vlad tried pull on the cuffs but nothing happened, not that he really expected it to however it was worth a try.

As soon as they were convinced that their prisoners were secure they left the room, leaving the three occupants to wait for Mr Grantham's interrogation.

"This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't ran Vlad." Robin moaned looking at Erin. He hated being tied up, he wasn't blaming her intentionally but he didn't know the argument his words would kick off.

Erin had a good reason to run, she couldn't look at that screen a moment longer.

Erin's eyes narrowed as she looked at Vlad, "You have a Queen?" Deep down she hoped that she'd misheard, but Vlad did look slightly guilty.

"The only way she can be my Queen is if I'm married to her." Vlad told her slowly, before shaking his head as he realised what it sounded like he was saying. "And I'm not married to her and I'm not marrying her.

Erin was now confused, "But she said she's your Queen?"

He reluctantly nodded, seeing her words had truth in them. "I agreed to have her as Queen to save you."

"So you *are* engaged?" Erin asked him.

Vlad blinked furiously as he spoke, "I was but I'm not, maybe a little…"

"How can you be a little engaged?" She was feeling her blood boil as she looked at Vlad. Either he was engaged or he wasn't there was nowhere inbetween.

Vlad's voice was irritated now, "I did it to save you."

Robin decided to explain the situation more clearly, "Chloe blackmailed Vlad that if he didn't make her his Queen, she wouldn't help you."

Erin's face softened as she realised Vlad's dilemma, she couldn't let him do this for her. It wasn't fair he should lose his freedom by giving hers back to her. "I won't let you marry anyone to save me, I'd rather go through with…"

"Its been sorted Erin." Vlad told her softly, "Chloe didn't help in the end and the contract was suggested instead. The Council want you as Queen not her."

Erin blinked, trying to understand. The Council had said Vlad could marry her and not Chloe. Even considering what she was. "Even though I was a slayer?"

"You betrayed them to save me." He told her softly, "They'll let me have you as my Queen, the slayers agree too."

"Do you want me to be?" She asked him quietly, she needed to know he wasn't doing this because they had chosen for him or because it was the solution.

"I love you Erin." He protested, slightly upset at her doubt in him. "I don't want anyone else as Queen." Her eyes watered at the conviction in his words.

Robin would have tutted normally but he could see how much they cared for each other. He couldn't believe the position they were in. They both loved each other but Chloe and her parents had tried to tear them apart, he couldn't imagine what they were going through.

Robin could see why Vlad had fallen for Erin, she had guts about her and wasn't afraid of what he was. She always wanted to protect him. It didn't escape him how beautiful she was, her clear blue eyes and dirty blonde hair; her love for Vlad was all across her face. Robin knew that she'd support his friend when he came to power; Vlad trusted her and she'd proved her loyalty to him more than once apparently.

Suddenly the door banged open drawing Erin and Vlad's gazes from each other.

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The door flew back forcefully, denting the corkboard notice board on the wall and cracking the class in the door. Grantham glared at Erin as he sat himself down, the chair scraping backwards making the vampire amongst them wince.

"Your parents have been informed of your fiancé being here." Grantham told Erin firmly, ignoring her wince and glaring at Vlad. Vlad held his gaze. "And they've been informed of him being here too."

"His name is Vlad."

"He's a vampire!"

"We have a truce with him,"

Grantham braced his hands on the bench, towering over her casting Erin in his shadow. "For how long before our kind has to protect itself and the humans from them?"

Vlad clicked his fingers and Grantham froze in front of them. Erin turned to face Vlad.

Vlad clicked his fingers and the ties around Robin and Erin's waists fell to the ground. Robin shuffled forwards from where he was behind his friend and reached for the fang cuff key in his pocket, he hoped it was the same key for all fang cuffs.

He let out a sigh of relief as the key slipped into the lock and quickly unlocked them. Vlad rubbed his wrists; the slayers had wrapped them very tightly around his wrists.

"Now what?" Robin asked him.

Vlad looked at Erin and she nodded. "Now we get out of here."

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Vlad focussed, closing his eyes. Immediately he could see the corridor outside Grantham's office. It was completely clear.

Carefully Vlad opened the door and crept outside followed by Erin then Robin.

Robin grasped the door handle in his hand and pulled the door to.

"NO!" Vlad hissed as soon as he saw what Robin was doing, but it was too late.

The force with which Robin closed the door made the crack in the glass completed its journey. The glass fractured and shattered falling out of its setting and crashing to the floor loudly.

Robin looked sheepish but defended himself. "I didn't do it on purpose." He looked back and forth down the corridor. "Maybe they didn't hear it."

The clomping of boots coming closer and closer to them told them otherwise.

Vlad let out a sigh. "Run!"

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The slayers chased them down the corridors. Vlad was the fastest runner out of them all, Erin wasn't that far behind but Robin was a fair distance behind her.

Vlad narrowly dodged the stake that whizzed past his ear. He'd speak to Jonno about this when the got back.

They slipped on the floor as they tried to speed up, obviously whoever the cleaner was prided themselves on their shiny floor.

They couldn't keep running, especially when Vlad was forced to grab Erin's jumper to stop her from flying past them and hurting herself as they turned the corner.

Robin quickly tried all the doors, not one was open. The handled rattled but that was it.

Vlad hit a dead end and turned trying to come up with an idea. They had to hide in one of the classrooms. He clicked his fingers and the science lab door unlocked. He gestured for them to enter before closing the door himself not trust Robin again. He clicked his fingers and it locked.

"We need to get out." Robin hissed at Vlad, trying to find an exit that wasn't to floors up from the ground.

"How?" Vlad asked him firmly.

"You're a vampire, you can fly!" Robin cried.

"Wait!" Erin shouted but once again it was too late. He'd grabbed the nearby stool and threw it through the window.

Erin shook her head as less than ten seconds after he did that the slayers were at the door, they knew which room they were in.

Vlad didn't have a choice now. He'd have to fly. "Can you carry both of us?" She asked, he was stronger than any other vampire but she wasn't sure about this, it had never been tested.

Vlad looked worried, she hated seeing that expression on his face. "I've got no choice."

As he spoke the glass in the door shattered and a hand was forced through to try and jimmy the lock from this side.

They had half a minute at most.

"Motion sickness." Vlad whispered softly to her warning her in advance, standing directly in front of her. Erin nodded, it would be worth it. She closed her eyes burying herself into his embrace.

Vlad grabbed Robin by the scruff of his neck and yanked him towards them before disappearing into the remaining night before anyone could stop him.

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	24. Heirs and Paperwork

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Six chapters to go after this…_

_The sequel will probably be set directly at the end of this fic, give or take a month like I did with my saga._

_Remember if there's anything you would like to see in particular feel free to let me know._

Chapter 24: Heirs and Paperwork

The scathing look that was sent Erin's way as soon as she entered the foyer made her hesitate slightly in her step. Erin slipped her hand into his, Vlad squeezed it and pulled her closer to him. Chloe's eyes narrowed at Vlad's affectionate gesture towards Erin.

"What's she doing here?" Chloe snarled at him,

"Erin's agreed to be Vlad's Queen." Robin grinned at the family, his habit for speaking at the wrong moments had never left him.

"I'm supposed to be his Queen!" She screamed lunging for Erin. Vlad grabbed Erin's waist and spun her away from Chloe. Jonno grabbed the thrashing Chloe and tied her wrists together using the ties Mina held out to him.

Vlad stepped closer to Chloe, letting go of Erin after making sure she was okay, he was still as protective of Erin as ever before. "That was in return for your help." He told her, his tone never altering from its dangerous level. "You didn't help at all, the agreement is over." 

"But…"

"No buts Chloe, I don't love you, I never have and I never will." He didn't like to be harsh but she needed it.

"Vlad I l…"

Vlad had enough by this point and clicked his fingers, hypnotising her. He turned to Jonno. "We had to leave in a hurry, the Nobles and Hartleighs are probably on their way."

Jonno closed his eyes, dreading this. "What did you do?" So much for recon before getting Erin out.

"Andrew attacked me." Erin told Jonno quietly. "Vlad had to act." Jonno nodded slowly. Vlad would probably tell him more later.

"The contract is almost ready." Jonno answered Vlad's questioning look. "We sped up the process a little. We've cut a few corners, Ingrid and Bertrand helped write it. Vampires are quicker than us at these things."

"Are the Council in…"

Ingrid cut him off, her arms folded and horror in her eyes, "Get changed Vlad, you look like a freak." That insult hit it's mark – the slayers.

However even they had to admit he did look weird dressed as a slayer in the khaki turtleneck, complete with fang proof vest and combat trousers. The stakes didn't help the matter either.

Vlad nodded slowly before tugging on Erin's hand pulling her in the direction of the Dracula living quarters, Vlad clicked his fingers and Chloe burst back into life just as they disappeared around the corner.

"Where's Vlad?" Chloe asked, looking nervous.

Robin shoved Chloe in the back, "Just move Chloe."

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Vlad yanked off the turtleneck as soon as he could to reveal a red t-shirt underneath, he rubbed at his arms trying to get the feel of the itchy cotton from him. He couldn't actually feel the discomfort but his mind had tricked him into feeling it. He grabbed one of his red plaid shirts out of his wardrobe and quickly threw it on.

He dropped the slayer's gear onto the table as fast as he could. He couldn't bear having that equipment so near to him. He was only thankful he didn't have garlic in his kit.

A knocking at his door made him turn to see Erin poking her head through the door, Vlad smiled and looked to her. He held back a laugh as he watched Erin scratch at her neck now she had the chance to let the air get to it.

"Home." She smiled at him, Vlad nodded slowly. Erin had only ever thought of this place as home, she didn't care where she'd been brought up; there was no love in that house. Vlad's home was her home.

Erin sat down on his small sofa lightly, bringing her knees up underneath her. Vlad sat down next to her, the weight shifting on the sofa causing her to topple on top of him. She let out a giggle as he continued her fall so they were stretched out on the sofa, with her on top of him.

"Thank you." She whispered, pressing her forehead against his.

"I promised I'd protect you, and I always will."

Erin leaned down and closed the distance between them, kissing him slowly as their tongues brushed against each other lazily. Vlad responded, cupping her head and bringing her closer to him, running his fingers through her hair. His right hand slowly undid the buttons on her blue shirt, running his hand underneath feeling the vest top still there, before lifting the hem slightly to feel the soft skin at her waist.

Erin moaned and arched into him making him smile.

"Not interrupting anything am I?" The voice was too innocent for its own good.

Vlad groaned as Erin scrambled off him; they sat up next to each other. Erin was nearly as red as the shirt he was wearing.

Ingrid sauntered towards her brother and inhaled a deep breath trying to detect Erin's scent on him. She then moved to Erin and did the same to her.

"What's she doing?" Erin asked, slightly nervous at Ingrid's gestures.

"Fog off Ingrid." Vlad told his sister angrily,

"Just trying to see if you spend last night together as well."

Erin's eyes grew as wide as saucers, she never thought Vlad was the kiss and tell type, "She knows?"

Ingrid tipped her head, a faint smile playing across her lips. "He came home reeking of you, it wasn't hard to work out."

Erin hadn't realised that her scent would be all over Vlad, she hadn't bothered using the stasis spray again that night. "How did your dad take it?"

"I don't know." Vlad admitted quietly. The Count hadn't said anything to him.

"Well you can ask him," Ingrid interrupted their conversation, drawing matching rolling of eyes from both of them. "Everyone's waiting for you in the throne room."

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Atilla sped across the room, stopping mere inches from Erin. Only Vlad's presence behind her physically stopped her from jumping backwards and away from the woman.

"So this is Erin." She looked at her, Erin did her best not to tremble. Vlad grasped her biceps gently, stroking them with his thumbs slowly. The gesture relaxed her. "My grandson loves you although vampires aren't supposed to feel love."

Erin knew she had to speak; she didn't want her or Vlad to look weak. "I love him too." She answered clearly for her to hear.

Atilla nodded at her answer, "French or Italian blood?" Immediately Ingrid and Robin's hands shot into the air. They knew the answer to this one.

"Neither soy blood." Vlad kissed her temple at her answer, he knew she'd be vegetarian just like him. Atilla opened her mouth to reply but Erin continued, "But if I did drink blood I couldn't drink either as they both have garlic."

"What do you think of vampires?" She asked her pointedly.

"That they're people like everyone else, although some stop at nothing to get their brother's power." She spoke, directing that last statement at Ingrid who had the decency to look the other way at the time.

"You betrayed the Guild…"

Erin didn't bat an eyelid as she stated: "I'd do it again to save Vlad and his clan. He's the best future your kind has and I don't want to lose him." Her answer hadn't changed and she knew that it never would.

Vlad let out a rumble in his chest, Erin felt it before she heard it. "Can we drop the questions?"

"Just one more." Atilla told him, she wanted a true answer to this next one. "You were a slayer," Erin had a nasty feeling she knew where this was going. "Have you ever slain a vampire?"

Erin heard the rumble of thunder in the background and she knew who exactly was to blame for that outburst. "It was an accident. I never meant to slay her." She whispered. Erin turned her head away, she'd spilled more than enough tears over that accident.

Atilla's face blackened as she realised that she had consented to someone who had actually killed a vampire to be Vlad's Queen, she had thought she was an untainted slayer.

"She saved my unlife." Vlad told his Gran firmly. "If Erin hadn't have walked in it would have been me that would be dust." Vlad looked down at Erin, "Smell her, her scent hasn't changed to match a slayers because she didn't do it on purpose." A slayer's first intentional kill changed their scent forever, Erin's had never changed. Vlad had caught glimpses of it when she'd let her spray lapse around him before she stopped using it completely.

Atilla studied Erin closely, she saw that the killing of a vampire had affected her; a normal slayer wouldn't have batted an eyelid.

She looked at Vlad, Erin had answered all of her questions to her satisfaction. She looked between the tender look of affection on her grandson's face and the matching one on the former slayer's face, they would have to hide that in the future.

She stepped to the side, gesturing to the sofa. "Now, we need to start training her to be your Queen."

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Erin had been overloaded with information ever since she had sat down. Vlad had insisted that the training wait until the contract had been fully discussed with Erin. He wanted to give her the option of turning down the contract.

Mina, Ingrid and Atilla sat opposite her on the other sofa, they studied her intently. None of them had expected her to take it so calmly.

"So?" Vlad asked her quietly now everything had been explained to her in detail.

She looked up at Vlad who was perched on the arm of the chair. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders providing her with the comfort she wanted. "I want to do it Vlad."

Vlad was sure she was forgetting something. "I'll be forced to transform you."

Erin pulled on his shirt lightly, forcing him to bend slightly. She pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. "I don't care about being transformed just that I can be with you." She kissed his jaw briefly, "Our lifespans will actually match." She smiled slightly, when she was sixty she would look the same age as him, he wouldn't be ridiculed for her age. "At least Bertrand won't be able to drain me."

Vlad's eyes narrowed at her words, "Not funny Erin." Bertrand had come close to draining her twice already.

"Maybe I was destined to become a half fang and not a slayer." Her parents would have a fit at that comment.

"Are you sure you know what's involved?" Ingrid asked Erin gently, Erin was wary of this Ingrid. The last time she'd been this nice she'd been trying to slay Vlad.

Erin nodded frantically, "I think so." This way they could be together, mating was permanent though but so would be her marriage to Andrew if she had to follow through with that contract.

"You'll be Queen." Atilla told her firmly, "That means you have to provide Vlad with an heir…"

"GRAN!" Vlad snapped cutting her off, he didn't want Erin to think this was being forced upon her as a condition. It wasn't a condition in the contract, the only condition was that children would inherit.

Erin looked at Vlad, fear in her eyes. "An heir?" She whispered, the urge to bolt was fighting to take over. "Right away?"

Vlad knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his. He shook his head, "Not right away." He promised her, "Only when you're ready and not before. All I care about is you." He whispered.

Erin stood slowly, pulling her hands from Vlad's. "I need some air."

She walked as fast as she could – practically running – from the room.

Vlad glared at his Gran, "Thanks for that." He muttered sarcastically, his Gran didn't understand what she'd done.

He shook his head before jogging out of the room after her.

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Vlad came to a halt beside her; he waited for her to speak not wanting to push her at all.

Erin knew what it must have sounded like, like she didn't ever want to have children or his children, "I'm sorry…"

"I understand Erin, I do."

"The slayers want me to breed slayers and the vampires want me to breed vampires. How is this better?" She asked him quietly.

Vlad ran a hand though his hair, "Our culture is different to yours." Vlad began quietly. "Women don't have the freedom your kind does, well that breathers do." He corrected remembering that slayer women didn't have the freedom either. "Gran didn't mean anything by it."

Erin nodded but hugged her arms around her tighter, trying to comfort herself in some way.

"Women are expected to have children and look after their husbands but I'll never force you to do that." He told her, his eyes not wavering from her once. "I love you, that means you'll always come before the entire flapping council. I don't want an heir that will be born because someone wants it to be, I want a child be born because we both want it more than anything else." He stroked her cheek lightly. "We choose when we have a child no one else. I will *never* force you."

Erin relaxed at his words, she was terrified that she had no choice in this just like she didn't with her parents.

"Will I be expected to do anything else?" She asked him softly.

"Just stop me from slaying the Council when they upset me." He joked making her laugh. Erin felt the last little bits of tension easing from her shoulders. He wrapped an arm around her waist letting her rest her head on his shoulder, "I want you to be my equal, Ingrid will still be my number two but I want you to have the respect you deserve."

He was offering too much to her, she didn't deserve it. "Vlad…"

"Think about it, please."

Erin nodded slowly, "Promise."

A coughing made them look towards the end of the corridor; he hadn't heard them he was too far away from them. "It's ready to be signed." Jonno told them with a smile.

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Erin watched as Vlad finished signing it, she only hoped he didn't draw the little vampire symbol he did when he usually signed things. He only did it to make her smile. He stepped back handing Erin the fountain pen that had drawn distasteful looks from the others when the slayers had produced it. Vlad preferred the fountain pen to the quills.

Erin's hand shook as she tried to sign the contract. She was nervous about this. It would officially mark them as engaged.

As she removed the pen from the paper, she was slightly upset that she didn't feel any different. She expected a thrill to race through her at the thought of being engaged to Vlad but there was nothing. It was probably the situation they were in at the moment, she'd get the feeling once she knew they were safe.

Vlad didn't like the contract being the symbol of their engagement. He would have preferred to ask her properly and not this way. This way wasn't romantic, it was more like a business deal. He promised himself he'd ask her properly.

"At least I got to sign it and not my parents or Hartleigh." She told Vlad with a smile, she liked the fact she had more control over this contract.

"Hartleigh signed it?" Jonno asked, his face paling dramatically. He shared a concerned look with Mina who was almost as pale as her son.

"Yeah." Erin looked back at Vlad; he tried to give her a reassuring smile he didn't know what was going on either.

Vlad stepped forward slightly, he wanted an answer now. "What's the problem?"

"Hartleigh is a senior member of the board, Andrew should have been the only one to sign it as he's over eighteen."

Ingrid felt dread knotting in her stomach, "What does that mean?"

Jonno closed his eyes, clenching his fists. "Hartleigh signing it means that its been agreed by the heads of the Slayers Guild. It can't be overruled."

"He signed it without you knowing about it." Vlad argued.

"But its been authorised by a head of the Guild, him signing it makes that one more valid as it was signed first."

"Backdate it then!" Erin shouted angrily, she wasn't going to go back to them.

"I can't backdate it." Jonno told them, "A Truce like this needs to be announced publicly the moment it's signed. If I backdate it I'll have mutiny amongst the slayers, they'll claim this was done so they couldn't object."

Augustus nodded. "And the vampires."

Vlad ran his hands across his face. There had to be a way out of this. "What can we do?"

There was only one answer now, "Unless you have an *official* prior claim on her we're stuck." That's the only way they could declare the contract valid, they could say that it wasn't official until now.

'Official' meant an engagement and had to have been done before the first contract was signed.

Vlad didn't have an official claim.

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_Remember if there's anything you would like to see in particular feel free to let me know._

_Thanks for reading._


	25. Packing

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_I haven't decided on a title for the sequel yet, hopefully for tomorrow I'll have some idea so I can let you know before this fic is finished._

_I think this story has been my favourite to type since my sage, considering the length of the chapters are longer than some of my other fics._

Chapter 25: Packing

Erin looked around the room slowly; everyone seemed to have pitying looks on their faces as they looked at her. Her parents must have known that they might try this and that's why they had Hartleigh sign it. They really were focused on her fulfilling her 'destiny'.

An idea came to the Count and he gestured to Erin with his right hand, "Bite her. She becomes your responsibility." All half fangs were the responsibility of their masters.

Vlad shook his head, looking at Erin out of the corner of his eyes. He could see the fear on her face at his father's suggestion. "I'm not…"

"You bite her, its war." Jonno didn't say it as a threat; he said it as a statement. The Truce demanded no biting in return for no slaying and biting included creating half fangs.

"Why can't the contract be overruled?" Vlad asked him, this seemed a pathetic reason.

"If Hartleigh hadn't signed it we'd have a chance. He signed it so all the heads of the Guild are bound to it."

"He did it behind your back! Its illegal!" Vlad shouted at them. Surely if it was illegal that made it null and void, at the very least Erin wouldn't be forced to follow through with it.

Mina chose to speak at that moment, "He might have done it behind our backs but the contract is an official document. It's a sacred document as well amongst the slayers." The contract wasn't the same as a shopping list that could be tossed away once it was finished with or changed.

There was more bad news for Vlad now, Jonno needed to protect the Truce at all costs. There was only one way they could do that now: take Erin into their care saying Vlad had handed her over to them.

"We have to move her, Vlad." Jonno told him gently. "If she's found here now nothing can be done about the contract we will have war." Jonno turned to face Erin, an apology all over his face, "I'm sorry Erin…"

"I'm not taking her back to her parents yet." Mina told her son firmly, she wasn't going to do this to the girl. She couldn't imagine what Erin had been through. She began to fully understand why Erin had chosen the vampires over her own kind. Vlad had showed her love and let her make her own choices; clearly Erin didn't have that with her own family.

"But I still have to go." Erin muttered, "And it has to be now." She wiped at her face with her hands, she really was trapped, her parents had thought of everything. The mascara that had run giving her panda eyes now coated her fingers; she wiped it on her blue shirt leaving streaks of back.

Mina nodded slowly, "This way you're making sure Vlad stays safe."

Vlad stood protectively in front of Erin. "You're not taking her."

Mina didn't want to be the bad guy in this but their hands were now tied with Erin's piece of information. "We don't want to but we have to."

Vlad turned to Erin, taking her hands in his. "I'll keep you here, hide you until I'm eighteen then…" Erin shook her head slowly, Vlad was becoming desperate.

"You can't hide me forever Vlad. They'll know you had something to do with it." She brushed his fringe back slightly from where it had fallen into his eyes.

"Its two months." He whispered softly.

"You'll be accused of kidnap Vlad, the slayers will have to act." By acting she knew it meant he'd be slain and the Truce would be brought to an end. She wasn't going to play the part of Helen of Troy. "You are *not* going to war because of me."

"You're worth it." He told her quietly, he had something to fight for. Something precious.

"I'm not worth the unlives of countless vampires and the lives of slayers." Erin answered, a sad smile on her lips. Neither of them could live with those deaths on their conscience, it would eventually tear them apart.

He pressed his forehead against hers, "To me you are."

"There's another two months, we'll think of something else." She told him false cheer in her voice. She knew there weren't any more options for them but she had to keep hopeful.

"Can't you just leave her here until they arrive?" Vlad begged, "Then say you only found out then?"

Jonno didn't want to watch what would happen, Vlad didn't deserve it. He never thought he'd say that about a vampire but Vlad had proved him wrong he wondered what it would have been like years ago to have actually befriended Vlad instead of immediately being against him. "Then we'd have to stand by and watch you being slain."

"So?" Vlad whispered, it wasn't worth it if he had to watch Erin being married to someone else. His status and power wasn't worth anything if he couldn't protect her like he'd promised to.

Erin kissed him slowly, "Vlad you need to survive, no one else can lead your kind."

Vlad screwed up his eyes, he didn't care he was looking weak anymore. "I can't lead them on my own."

"You can Vlad." Erin knew he could do it, he would be the best thing that ever happened to the vampires.

"I don't want to lead them on my own." He corrected, "I wanted you to be beside me." Erin's breath caught, she hadn't thought he'd ever admit that in front of his clan or two of the Council members.

"I know." She kissed his jaw, she'd never answered his question about sharing his power. She still thought he was offering too much. Erin pulled back from him, "I need to pack."

Before Vlad could respond, Erin was out of the door.

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Vlad had his head buried in his arms sitting at the throne table. The Count thought he was asleep at first and decided to leave his son alone.

He knew the pain of losing someone you loved to someone else, even if Erin didn't have a choice the pain was hard to bear. Magda kept coming back to them whereas there was a high chance that Vlad and Erin would never see each other again.

"Where's Erin?" The Count asked quietly, he thought his son would be with her, spending every moment they could together.

"Packing." He answered, his voice breaking in the middle of the word. Neither of them could be near each other while she packed, they'd tried but they couldn't do it. It was just too hard.

"This is like that story you and Erin love so much, the one with the happy ending." He couldn't get over the fact he was admitting to knowing some breather literature – Twilight was just for research purposes of course, see how breathers portrayed their kind.

"What story?" Vlad crinkled his face in confusion.

The Count waved his hand. "The one by that Tremblelance fellow."

"Tremblelance?" Vlad suddenly understood. "Shakespeare." He corrected with a frustrated sigh, "It's a play Dad, Romeo and Juliet. They both end up dead."

"You're already dead…" 

"Fine," He snapped. "Think of it as they both end up as dust."

The Count tried to answer that, but found he couldn't. The Count sat down next to his son.

"Sometimes you have to take the things you want," He paused before looking up, "Of course vampires do it anyway." He pointed out, it was supposed to be common knowledge but rarely did vampires take what they wanted now. That's why they needed someone to lead them out of the shadows.

"Erin won't let me do it." Vlad told him, he'd already considered it.

"You're letting a woman tell you what to do, no vampire is controlled by a woman."

"Mum controls you." Vlad pointed out. "I won't do anything Erin doesn't want."

The Count shrugged, he hated to see his son in this much heartbreak. He'd wanted to drain Erin for it last time when she'd broken Vlad's heart but this time his heart went out to her. "She might need a push in the right direction."

"Usually she's the one who has to kick me in the fangs." Vlad admitted. Erin had kicked him in the fangs when he'd become evil and she'd managed to do it when writing started to appear in that flapping book.

The Count sighed, "Then all you can do it be there for her."

"I can't even think about her marrying him, let alone being forced to breed his children." Vlad looked at his father, "Is this how you felt when Wolfie was born?"

The Count wanted to deny it but he couldn't, he couldn't lie to Vlad when his son was this vulnerable, "Your mother made her choice to leave us Vladdy, Erin hasn't. Yes it does hurt and it doesn't go away, it numbs but it never goes away. You learn to live with it Vlad. Wolfie is part of this clan now," His father admitted to him, although he would never say it again. "He'll always be." He kissed his son's forehead standing upwards. "Just like Erin is part of our clan."

Before Vlad could respond to that the Count vanished leaving him looking at thin air.

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It was strange for Jonno to see a vampire so distraught, this was worse than when he'd seen Vlad upset after agreeing to Chloe's demand to become Queen.

"I'm sorry Vlad." Jonno told him quietly.

Vlad nodded slowly he understood the position Jonno was in. Jonno could either defy the Guild and have dissent amongst his kind or he could perform his duty and hope another solution came to them.

"I thought the whole point of this was to get her out of there to think of something before you ever thought of the contract…"

"It was, but Erin's contract has been agreed to by a head of the Guild, I can't used deniability on it. I'm bound to see it through. I'm so sorry Vlad." Jonno wouldn't take any pleasure in this at all. "If they hadn't forced you to act and reveal yourself at the Academy then we might have had a chance to hide her for two months then reveal her so you could contest. As they found out we have to hand Erin back to them otherwise they'll target you."

"They'll target Vlad anyway." A new voice came from under the archway,

"Are you ready?" Mina asked Erin quietly.

"Yeah."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	26. Face Value

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Four chapters to go after this…_

_I really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint I spent hours on it…_

Chapter 26: Face Value

Erin was slowly led away from then towards Jonno and Mina standing by their Nissan.

Before Erin got too far, Ingrid uncharacteristically pulled her into a hug. The vampire hugged the younger woman tightly, taking care not to hurt her though. Erin hesitantly returned her hug.

"I'm sorry." Ingrid whispered to her, even she'd been able to get out of her arranged marriage and her dad had promised never to set another one up. Erin didn't have that option.

Ingrid slowly stepped back and away from her. She smiled at Erin trying to give her some comfort although she knew if it was her she nothing would comfort her.

Vlad opened his arms soundlessly and in the blink of an eye Erin turned and dove into Vlad's arms hugging him tightly. Vlad linked his arms around her, not wanting to let go. His arms tightened a fraction too tight and he heard her breathing hitch before he released his grip a fraction. He rocked her from side to side, tears leaking from his eyes. He buried his face in her hair trying to hide how he was feeling from her so not to make her feel worse.

"I love you." He whispered into her hair.

He felt her nod against his chest, she opened her mouth to say it back to him but she couldn't get it out around her sobs. He knew ho she felt though, he always would.

Ingrid couldn't just stand by and watch this; she wanted to try one more thing. Her brother was the future Grand High Vampire, which must count for something. "Doesn't Vlad have the authority…"

Jonno shook his head, if he had authority he could in effect claim 'diplomatic immunity' and it would give the new contract more weight. At the moment the leaders of the one side were dealing with people below their 'rank' with Vlad they would be on equal footing. Two leaders signing the contract held more weight than just one. They might have something if Vlad had a current symbol of authority.

"Unless you can prove your authority, I mean we already know who you are but you still need to prove it. He doesn't have a sign of authority until he puts his crown on. Which is *after* the date of the wedding." Vlad could demand it being in authority but not having a symbol of authority they wouldn't recognise it.

Augustus raised his goblet in the air, he always seemed to have blood in his hand. "That isn't true."

Everyone turned to look at him, Vlad winced slightly he knew where this was headed.

The Count snapped his fingers, "Your ring, that's your authority that the Council gave you when you turned sixteen."

Jonno's face lit up, it might provide some influence, "Where is it?"

As one everyone turned to face Vlad, raised eyebrows in his direction waiting for him to produce it. It would have been funny if the situation hadn't been that serious.

Erin looked at him slightly sheepishly and Vlad nodded, telling her it was okay. There was no point in hiding it now.

She reached into her shirt; everyone began to wonder what she was doing. Erin grasped the chain and she slowly pulled it out to reveal his signet ring.

The sunlight glinted off it, blinding anyone that looked at it.

Everyone stared at Vlad.

Ingrid broke the silence by laughing – loudly.

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"Why does Erin have your ring?" The Count asked his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the guilty expressions the young couple wore.

"I gave it to Erin." Vlad muttered. "Before her parents took her. I did it to show I was protecting her, she's wearing it around her neck to show I'm her protector."

Ingrid laughed harder, doubling over. Bertrand seemed to follow her, it was frightening seeing Bertrand laugh. "Don't you… know… what you've… done?" She managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter. "How many times… has Bertrand… told you not… to take things at… face value?"

Vlad's brows furrowed, "I don't understand."

"Giving a crest does show protection." Bertrand agreed with him, "To men only."

Vlad's eyes turned to black orbs as his fury overtook him, "You never said that." In all his research and lessons with Bertrand it had never come up that it was for *men* only.

"I didn't think I had to!" Bertrand replied, it was common knowledge that men had a higher status in their world. Protecting women wasn't even considered.

"What does this mean as Erin's a woman?" Vlad hoped it still applied and was just a vague mention to who was actually protected. A loophole of sorts.

Ingrid let a snort escape and everyone looked at her. "Oh she's still protected… in a way." The Count gave her a scathing look and she tried to silence her laughter behind her hand.

Vlad looked at the other vampires hoping someone would tell him what exactly the problem was but they all seemed to be sending each other silent messages that he couldn't interpret.

"You gave a clan crest to a woman." That was obvious, Ingrid patted Vlad on the shoulder. That worried Vlad the way she did it.

"So?" He asked again, growing impatient at not receiving an answer.

"Erin accepted your offer to protect her as her *husband*. You're engaged."

The pair looked at each other like deer caught in headlights before as one their gazes slowly followed her neck down to the emblem of the clan she wore.

Erin and Vlad looked down at the signet ring. It *was* an engagement ring. Both of them dropped it like hot coals as the realisation sank in.

Bertrand chose that moment to grab Ingrid's wrist and pulled her away from Vlad, he couldn't tell what the young vampire was going to do and he didn't want Ingrid to get hurt.

Bertrand spoke softly, unsure whether Vlad had understood everything. "You have the prior claim on Erin."

Vlad was the one who walked out this time. He quickly sped and vanished into the school. Erin stared after him for a moment. The Count went to follow Vlad, but Erin moved forwards.

"I'll talk to him." The Count nodded to her and Erin gave him a brief half smile.

Thoughts of her leaving were gone now completely.

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Erin's mind was overloading as she walked down the corridors. Bertrand had just told them all that Vlad had the prior claim on her, her parents or the Hartleighs couldn't touch her. Erin wasn't sure how she felt with that knowledge, she felt overjoyed but she was also terrified that there would be a problem this time.

She knew where he'd be without a doubt; she knew he always retreated to his only place of comfort when he felt vulnerable.

Erin knocked on the door of his room, Vlad didn't move from his gaze out of the window. She knew he was carefully avoiding the direct sunlight to avoid being burned by the UV light emitted from the sun.

Vlad felt an idiot, they had the answer all the time but he felt guilty. Even if this entire mess hadn't happened they'd be engaged. A step they'd taken without knowing it. No one had actually told him giving his ring to a woman for protection meant the form of a protection a husband gave to his wife.

He wanted this but he felt an idiot for not knowing enough about Vampire Law to know its importance. On the other hand if he hadn't given her the ring he wouldn't have any claim on her and she'd be married without him being able to do anything about it.

He felt her in the doorway; he could hear her slightly rapid breathing and her racing heart. He could smell her nervousness.

"How is this different Vlad?" Erin asked him quietly. "The contract we signed would mean the same thing."

Vlad spun to face her, self-loathing across his face, "But you didn't ask for it back then. I did it before all of this happened because I didn't think to check into it."

Erin shrugged, "I don't care. It's the solution we need." Erin wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him.

"I feel like I tricked you into it." Vlad told her seriously and Erin could have laughed at his words if they hadn't made her so angry with the vampire in front of her.

"If you didn't know about it how could you trick me into it?" She snapped angrily at him, "Or is this your vampire 'honour' coming back?" She stepped away from him, she couldn't help it she felt hurt.

Vlad grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him, Erin was forced to look at him. Vlad ignored the angry look in her eyes, he'd only seen that look once before and that was when he asked Becky out in front of her. Although they both knew it was to drain her.

"I just wanted to ask you properly, not by accident." He whispered, immediately Erin's anger vanished replaced by shock. She never considered that possibility. "I know we both agreed to the contract but this whole ring thing was before we knew what your parents were doing, you had a choice to turn me down without this contract thing being a reason."

"Then ask me properly." She answered lifting her hand to his throat and stroking it lightly. "And I promise to answer truthfully, the contract doesn't exist in this moment, slayers honour." Her words made him smile. "Are there any special words you need to say?"

"I don't know," He didn't think there were. He lifted his cool fingers to her warm neck and slowly undid the clasp holding his signet ring in place. Erin felt slightly bereft when he took it from her. He refastened the chain; if she accepted this time he knew it would never fit on her finger.

Vlad guided Erin across the room and seated her on the closed arch of his coffin. Erin shifted slightly to make herself more comfortable; sitting on the catches was slightly painful. Vlad gave her a concerned look worried that she was changing her mind; Erin saw his fear and nodded to him letting him know she was okay.

Erin looked down as a smile graced her lips as Vlad paced nervously, unsure what exactly he was supposed to say. He stopped a few times opening his mouth before turning away once more.

Eventually he stopped for longer than two seconds, his head nodded with a sense of finality that he now knew what to say.

Vlad stepped closer to her and took her hands in his. "I know I've already asked in the vampire way," He was convinced vampires would know what the giving of a crest meant without any words needing to be said, "But I want to do it the normal way." Not that either of them could even remotely be classed as normal. Vlad hesitated slightly before kneeling down in front of her.

Erin stroked his cheek, he could see in her eyes she was telling him to take his time with this. There was no immediate hurry.

Vlad looked down before looking back up to her. He held out his right hand, the ring grasped between his index finger and thumb. He was trembling.

"Erin Elizabeth Noble," He began his voice wavering, Erin felt a few tears coming to her eyes but for the first time in over a week they were tears of joy. "I love you…"

"I love you too." She responded automatically, receiving a glare from him for interrupting him. "Sorry."

"I love you," He paused, this time she didn't interrupt so he knew it was safe to continue. "Will you become my equal and my Queen amongst my kind by becoming my wife through the mating ceremony?"

There was only ever one answer she would give him. "Yes."

Vlad's eyes widened significantly convinced he'd misheard. "What?" Erin let out a small laugh; he was obviously convinced she wouldn't say yes without the threat of their current situation looming over them.

"I said, yes Vlad."

With those words the feeling of love and happiness intensified. That was the rush of emotion that Erin had felt was missing when signing the contract, the fact it was her choice without it being a solution to a situation they were in. The contract had missed that personal touch that she'd subconsciously wanted.

She leapt at him and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, Vlad let out a laugh hoisting her up into the air and rocking her from side to side as her legs swung back and forth. Erin grasped his shoulders so she wouldn't fall.

She pressed her lips to his, smiling as she kissed him. Vlad kissed her back passionately, their tongues battling. He slowly lowered her to the ground; her back bending backwards slightly with the intensity that he kissed her with. Erin ran her hands through his thick black locks, pulling them slightly making him moan.

They were definitely engaged now.

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Vlad and Erin exited the school to stand in the entranceway. The ring now prominently displayed around Erin's neck, resting on top of her shirt. Both looked slightly dishevelled but Erin looked more flustered with her flushed cheeks and rapidly rising and falling chest.

From the way Vlad's hands were comfortably resting around her waist they all knew that the engagement was official. It had been official the moment he gave her the ring, but it was official in the sense that they both knew about it now.

"Congratulations mate." Robin told his friend, grinning widely. "Does this make me best man?" Vlad opened his mouth to speak but decided not to. There was no such role in their mating ceremonies, he'd tell him later.

Ingrid had a big grin over her face as she looked at her baby brother, she couldn't resist getting a jibe in now that the tension had disappeared and they had something they could definitely fight the contract with, "Only my brother could get engaged without knowing about it."

"Oh flap off Ingrid." The couple spoke together before they started to laugh.

Jonno had a small smirk on his face, "You realise that Erin wasn't a slayer or a trainee one at the time so she didn't have to consult the Guild." That would give him the loophole he needed to say why he didn't know about it when the vampires did.

"I'll say I agreed to it as Regent." He knew he'd have to accept Erin into the family when she and Vlad began to date, this way he could defend Vlad's choice as he wasn't yet eighteen. Vampire law said people could be engaged from a young age but they couldn't marry until eighteen.

"We need a formal engagement notice." Atilla spoke, they didn't need the slayer's contract this time. They just needed to announce their engagement publicly. The slayers could do the same now; they'd have to state that Erin wasn't a member of the Guild at that time. It could be backdated now. They officially had plausible deniability again.

Vlad and Erin nodded, anything to make it more official. Vlad would make sure the terms of their Permanent Truce Contract were still in place so she could change her mind if she wanted to.

Jonno's phone began to ring. Why was it phone always had a habit of ringing at the worst possible moment?

He gave them all an apologetic look before darting off to the side to take the call more privately. He went to answer it but the caller rang off. He looked at it slightly confused, if it was important surely they would have continued ringing.

Looking at the screen it seemed as if he'd cancelled the call, there was no missed call symbol on the screen. It was strange, he hadn't touched the touch screen to cancel it.

Then his phone lit up again as it received a text message. He read it and groaned.

Everyone heard his groan and turned to face him.

"The Nobles are on their way."

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_I hope it didn't disappoint._

_Thanks for reading._


	27. Preparation

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_I hope my solution with the ring wasn't too farfetched. I've always thought that Vlad can be a little naïve when it comes to vampire customs even though he is learning the law more and more. _

_The idea came to me during my favourite episode (Carpathian Feast, love the chess scene) when Bertrand tells Vlad not to take everything at face value and the fact certain vampire customs can be a little vague._

Chapter 27: Preparation

Erin looked back up at Vlad as he tightened his grasp around her instinctively. She gently rubbed his hands as he traced patterns on her stomach through her shirt.

She wasn't sure how this would be dealt with now everything her parents were fighting for was classed as invalid with Vlad's unintentional-at-the-time proposal. "What does this mean now?"

"It means they're preparing to slay Vlad to get you back, we knew they'd come." Jonno stepped out of the sunlight, the sun beginning to blind him now it had moved to glint off the windows of the school. "Vlad might now have the prior claim but there's no saying they won't try to break it." Jonno smiled at Erin, "Don't worry you can't marry Andrew, the contract will be invalid now until he turns eighteen."

Erin looked up at Vlad, "If they slay Vlad…" Erin didn't want to think about it but if it happened she didn't want to find herself in an unwanted marriage again.

"Your engagement conditions will still hold, Vlad's keeping them." He looked at Vlad waiting for his confirmation, Vlad nodded fiercely. "No marriage until after your twenty first birthday. Slayer Law and Vampire Law. They can't force you to do anything now." Jonno gave her a small smile trying to reassure her. Erin felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease.

"How long have we got?" Vlad asked Jonno quietly.

Jonno looked at his watch, it would take a while to drive from the Noble house, "A few hours."

Vlad nodded slowly, he looked down at Erin. "We'd better get ready."

"For them?" Robin asked.

Vlad's head shook slowly; there was a graver problem. "For a fight."

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Erin watched as Vlad rifled though his wardrobe trying to pull out his leathers. She felt a little subconscious dressed normally. Leather acted as a double skin for vampires, when they wore leather it became in effect armour. It was durable, comfortable and resilient. To pierce the leather would require a great deal of force, that's why slayer technology had developed in the terms of using UV light as a weapon. Even if the smallest amount of vampire flesh was exposed to it then they would become dust.

"Shouldn't I be wearing something protective as well?" She asked him quietly.

Vlad stopped in front of her, "They won't hurt you Erin."

"They attacked Ryan."

"You're not a vampire, they won't harm you while there's a chance for you to fulfil your 'destiny'." He used finger quotations for the first time, it had the effect he wanted and she laughed at his expression.

Erin opened her mouth to speak but closed it again.

"What?" Vlad asked curious.

She shook her head, she really didn't want to tell him what she was thinking. "It sounds terrible. Too cliché. You'll laugh."

Vlad felt his lips twitch. "I promise I won't."

Erin's eyes narrowed and she folded her arms over her chest, she tried to judge whether he was telling the truth or not. She nodded with a sigh, agreeing to tell him. Vlad stepped closer, slightly concerned now.

"You can tell me anything."

"I was thinking that maybe I was always destined to be with a vampire, to be with you. I never fitted in with my kind but I felt like I actually fitted in when I met you. I've never felt this comfortable with anyone else." She looked at him briefly. She expected him to laugh but she didn't hear anything. She chanced a look up at him. "You can laugh now."

Vlad's eyes were full of tenderness and he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. "You're right it does sound cliché but I think the same thing." Erin looked back down. "I've never felt this way about anyone else before and I know it won't change." He admitted to her.

Erin kissed him lightly before stepping back out of his personal space. She glanced towards the pile of clothes that lay on the floor, it reminded her of when Wolfie had ransacked Vlad's wardrobe in aid of clothes for Vlad's life sized puppet.

Erin knew he needed to change. She lifted up the black t-shirt and his leathers holding them out to him. Erin knew he hated wearing them but he needed to, he had no choice in that.

Vlad accepted them off her before pulling off his shirt. There was no point in being modest now, not when she'd seen everything anyway.

Erin moved across to wardrobe and slowly began replacing his clothes in the wardrobe, folding some and hanging up others. It amazed her how few leather items Vlad had in his wardrobe. The rest of his family had many. He had two sets of leather formal wear, two capes and his leather jacket that he loved to wear. Everything else was either shirts, t-shirts or jeans (with the exception of two school uniforms).

Erin looked down at the ring around her neck, she needed to sort something out. She moved across the room watching Vlad slowly slipping his leather jacket on. For Vlad to be using human speed he was giving himself time to think.

She kissed him on the cheek. He looked at her slightly confused, "I need to do something." She whispered. She needed to make sure she understood something. "If I don't get the chance to tell you, I want you to be careful." She told him sternly.

"I will." He promised her before kissing her gently feeling her soft lips part for him.

Erin pulled back out of breath, she envied Vlad's lack of ability to breathe sometimes. "I'm expecting to be mated to you so if Renfield has to sweep up your ash I will stake you myself."

Vlad laughed at her double-dutch sentence. "He won't, I'll be careful I promise. You know I'll become dust if I have to, to protect you?"

Erin nodded sadly, he would be reckless if he wanted to keep her safe. "I know." Erin looked towards the door. "You need to talk with your family and I have to sort something out."

"I'll find you when they arrive." He called to her just as she reached the door, they didn't have long now. Erin nodded before continuing her journey out the door.

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Erin nervously stepped over the edge of the training room door, she watched as Bertrand practiced his fencing against an invisible opponent. Bertrand in leather was a strange sight; she'd only ever seen him in it once. He looked completely different in it.

Vlad would kill her if he knew she'd willingly entered a room that only had Bertrand inside after all Bertrand wasn't really a fan of hers.

If she had any other option she wouldn't be here now.

Bertrand almost immediately sensed her presence and spun around, facing her. The wooden samurai sword hovering dangerously close to her nose, just over a hairsbreadth away. Erin looked at it her eyes crossing slightly, before they began to glaze and she looked back up at him. Erin didn't gulp though, she wasn't going to show any weakness around Bertrand.

Bertrand didn't like weakness.

"What do you want?" He asked her, clearly addressing her for the first time.

"I wanted to ask you something." Her voice remained level although her whole body felt as if it were jelly. She was terrified inside.

"Then ask breather…" He trailed off, he knew what Vlad would say if he was caught insulting Erin.

Erin gave a small smile, "'Slayer' is more insulting than 'breather' to me." Bertrand couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face at her words. She wrung her hands slightly, "You know the most about Vampire Law," She began, she couldn't trust everything Bertrand said but she couldn't help it, she needed to know something.

"Yes." He told her, confirming her point.

"Can my parents object? I mean they did this before Vlad's birthday so he couldn't object but Andrew's over eighteen and…"

Bertrand understood why she was worried, "A woman becomes responsible for her own actions when she receives her fangs in our culture."

"I'm not a half fang…"

"You accepted Vlad's proposal and that was a vampire proposal. That means you're protected by our laws, you have the final say as you're over sixteen." Bertrand assured her.

"They could use the fact I'm a slayer…"

Bertrand knew where this was going, "You're not a slayer." Bertrand answered, this had to be the first conversation where he was actually being patient with her and not preparing to bite her. "The marriage contract was a condition to get your license back, the contract is broken so you've gone against the terms. You haven't got your license back. You're just a breather."

"So they can't stop it this time, no matter who signed the original contract?"

Bertrand replaced his replica sword in its correct place, turning it until he was satisfied with the way he could draw it if he needed to use it in a hurry. "Not even if Vlad was slain." Bertrand confirmed.

Erin relaxed completely at his words. "Thanks."

"Erin?" He called forcing her to turn around. There was no point in hiding anything now, "I still think Vlad would have been wiser to pick a full blood vampire."

She gave him a half smile; she knew how he felt it wasn't exactly a secret concerning Vlad's future. He wanted tradition and full blood vampires married full blood vampires, the same as slayers married slayers. "I know."

Bertrand swallowed before speaking slowly, "It takes courage to live with vampires that have tried to kill you, even more to become one of us." In all his four hundred years he'd never met a breather or slayer who knew that they would become a vampire and didn't detest it.

Erin knew that was a condition of the original contract. Vlad had never said he would change her now but she hoped he didn't back out of it. "You can be a little creepy sometimes and constantly trying to kill each other but you're more like a family to me than my own parents. At least none of you are forced into things you can't change."

Bertrand nodded slowly, he knew of arranged marriages and they never brought anyone happiness. Sometimes a love filled match was chosen but it wasn't very often.

Vlad sped into the room in that moment, he'd followed Erin's scent, nearly slamming into her and knocking her over.

He looked nervously between Bertrand and Erin, he didn't like them being left alone together for too long.

Vlad automatically walked towards Erin who was still hovering by the door, his hand cupping her cheek lightly. His leather creaked and groaned as he moved. "What are you doing in here?" He wanted to know to know whether he had to reprimand Bertrand later or not. "You okay?"

"Fine." She nodded, standing on her toes and kissing him lightly. Vlad flickered unsure between Bertrand and Erin. "I just needed to ask Bertrand something I didn't understand." She assured him.

"I could have helped."

"About Vampire Law." She told him quietly. Vlad nodded slowly, she was right Bertrand was the expert in their home.

Vlad looked over his shoulder at Bertrand.

"They're here."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	28. Predetermined

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_Two chapters to go after this…_

_The sequel to this will be called 'Fortitude'. It's all mapped out now, I have a good idea where it's going to be heading._

_There are a number of suggestions for the sequel people have given me for what they'd like to see. _

_I might turn it into a trilogy if people would like one. Don't worry I won't be offended if you don't want it._

Chapter 28: Predetermined

Vlad stood tall as he waited for the Nobles to burst into the room. His gaze was fixed on the door and his hands were clenched by his side, occasionally his arms swayed as he debated whether to leave them where they were or cross them.

They didn't disappoint him; they came in alongside the two Hartleighs. Each had a stake gripped in their hands; their hands trembled though not with fear. They were shaking with red-hot fury as they looked around the room.

Erin rose slowly from her seat as she saw her parents' gaze finally settle on her after sweeping the room carefully studying who was in it and where the available exits were.

She stepped back slightly towards Ingrid and Vlad. Vlad didn't touch her but she could see he was tempted to.

"Erin." Thomas warned slowly, looking at his daughter. His stake not wavering from where he could throw it at the Count, he was surprised that there wasn't a single flicker of fear in the vampire's eyes. Usually his prey would be begging for their unlives by now.

"Dad." Erin answered shortly, she wasn't three anymore that tone didn't affect her.

He was going to give his rebellious, shameful daughter a chance. "Come here Erin, and we'll go and pretend this never happened."

Erin shook her head, "No, I don't have to do what you say anymore." Vlad was technically her master now or rather he would be according to Vampire Law. She had to obey him – for the moment. She knew Vlad would never enforce the Law.

Erin weathered the storm filled looks they sent her way, she didn't care this time she was the one with the upper hand.

She chanced a glance at Vlad and saw his still tense position; he was ready to defend her physically if necessary.

For the first time she was the one in control of her life, and they weren't going to change that.

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Andrew was the first to speak after Erin's defiance, "So you're back with the vampires."

"And the slayers." Jonno added stepping into the light fully, Mina following him half a step behind. Jonno gripped his stake tightly, it wouldn't have the same effects on a human as a vampire but it still could seriously harm or even kill.

"You'd betray your own people?" George laughed humourlessly, unable to believe that the Van Helsings would go against their own kind considering what had happened to Jonno's father.

"Erin isn't a slayer she's a human, we're protecting the Truce." The number one rule of slaying was to protect humans.

Steph shook her head, contradicting him, "She's a trainee slayer."

"No she isn't." Jonno smiled at him, he was going to play ignorant see if George revealed what he'd done.

Silence fell over the room like a blanket, each person waiting for someone else to speak. No one took the chance; they all eyed each other carefully.

Mina eventually had enough of the silence and decided to cut it short. "Even if you promised to give her back her licence it was invalid from the start no matter what contract you signed."

"Just because four of us didn't agree?" George laughed, "My son needs children to carry on the name, he's one of the oldest slayers at twenty six that's still in the field. They gave me something I needed. She's a useless slayer but a very pretty arm ornament. My signature overrules any other contract."

Andrew waved his stake gesturing to Erin, a feral smile on his face. "I want my bride back." Erin turned away, trying not to retch at the gleam in his eye. He wanted to teach her a lesson.

Vlad pushed Erin behind him, looking at them closely. "Erin's not your bride." Erin didn't move from behind him. This is what Vlad's customs meant when they told him to protect her as her husband although he'd always protected her in the same way.

Andrew smirked before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing the contract. He opened it and waved it in Vlad's face. He enjoyed taunting the young vampire.

Vlad tipped his head, looking at the parchment. He felt the urge to click his fingers and burn it but he realised that would be childish; also it was exactly the reaction Andrew was hoping for.

Erin slowly lifted up Vlad's signet ring, waving it back at Andrew.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Thomas asked Jonno. He didn't understand the significance of it. Most vampire customs were elusive to slayers, they preferred to stake first then ask questions, even more so in the last four years.

"It's Vlad's crest." Erin told them gently.

Steph was afraid of the answer to her next question, "Why are you wearing it?"

Jonno decided that it would be best to direct the answer to the one person who would protest first. "George," Jonno began slowly, "The Contract's invalid, Erin was already engaged by vampire customs. She accepted Vlad's offer to protect her as her husband before she ever left here in the first place." He gestured to the young woman in question. "Erin didn't need to tell us at the time because she wasn't a slayer." They weren't admitting that they only found out the significance of the ring recently.

"She's not even eighteen!" Steph shouted, disgust clear in her voice.

Vlad face darkened and the dim lights in the room brightened, the vampires winced at the sudden change in lighting conditions. "That didn't seem to bother you before when you arranged her match to Andrew!"

Steph's face softened as she realised he was right, she was being a hypocrite. In truth she had never wanted the match to happen. She felt a small glimmer of relief that Erin had found a way out of it. "Why didn't she tell us?"

Ingrid answered first, "Would you have listened?" No one answered that question; "You would have ripped it from her the moment you found out. Denied she was ever engaged. You say we're backward but what parents would force their daughter to breed with a monster like that."

Usually vampires were referred to as monsters but at the moment Andrew was the monster. 

George corrected Ingrid immediately, "She'll have his children."

The Count answered this time, even amongst their culture having heirs or children wasn't referred to as breeding. "Having children is willingly done, breeding isn't. I can't see Erin willingly having Andrew's children do you? After all it isn't out of love its out of duty to build up your kind's numbers." He gestured to his son and future daughter in law. "Any children Vlad and Erin have will be born out of love, just as mine were."

Ingrid felt her throat close slightly at her father's slip. He hadn't declared that only Vlad was born out of love. She didn't know how to react to that, tears welled in her eyes. She was glad she'd caught the slip even if she never heard it again, for once she knew how her father felt about her.

"My son will be mating with your daughter. He's already chosen her, by our Laws and you can't stop it as my son has the prior claim on her." Erin prayed they didn't interpret 'chosen her' for what it actually meant at this moment. It wasn't the right moment for them to work out that they'd actually slept together.

Thomas and George shook, they were being made fools of here, they couldn't stand this for a moment longer.

"We'll fight it!" Thomas yelled at him.

"You can," Vlad conceded, that as before his fangs lowered, "You'll lose." He let out a hiss and electricity danced along the ceiling.

The slayers jumped back in fear, for the first time they were scared of the power the young vampire wielded. That wasn't even his full powers either.

Erin could have rolled her eyes, he was showing off now. She gently tapped his stomach and immediately his powers relaxed turning off quickly. The electricity seemed to draw itself back to him as if attached by elastic.

The Nobles and Hartleighs studied him, curious of his complete control over his powers.

They looked at Erin who didn't seem fazed by his powers but the other vampires and slayers did still look slightly nervous.

The vampires had a good reason considering they knew what it felt like to have his powers turned on them.

"You don't scare me vampire." Andrew began, this would be just one more notch to carve. He'd be hailed the hero when he slew the most powerful vampire.

He didn't care about having to wait to claim his prize; he'd make sure history was twisted to know he'd rescued the poor slayer girl from the evil vampires clutched.

Thomas looked at his daughter with a mixture of disappointment and repulsion on his face. "Erin's a disgrace to our family, even Claude Noble didn't intentionally betray the Guild for a vampire. She was supposed to restore honour to the name of Noble. You made sure she couldn't do that."

"Erin's destiny was dictated by something that happened over a hundred years ago. Erin deserves the right to choose what happens to her. You don't have a say in that." Vlad snapped at them. "My destiny was never predetermined by my Dad or anyone else. Fate chose mine. You chose Erin's. Fate has a different idea for her." His words were the truth. "I love Erin and I'd never tell her how to live her life or predetermine our children's." He eyeballed them all, not one of them could look at him properly. "It's about time you left her alone."

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Erin saw it, she assumed just before Vlad. The familiar purple orb that contained deadly rays of UV light.

Vlad flung out his arm and every UV bomb flew out of the window before the slayers could even blink. He didn't even bat an eyelid or take his eyes off them. He couldn't risk taking his eyes off them.

The slayers stared at their empty hands for a few moments before realising what he'd done.

The vampire needed to be dealt with.

Andrew let out a roar before launching himself at Vlad. The vampires spread out across the room so all their targets weren't in one place.

They'd expected this.

As the first blow narrowly missed him, Vlad needed to remember these slayers were nothing like those he'd come across before…

They had more stamina.

They were more experienced.

They were deadlier.

TBC

_A/N: What do you think?_

_As I said I could turn this into a trilogy if you'd like it, I won't be offended if you don't._

_Thanks for reading._


	29. Dodging

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_The final two chapters, I hope they don't disappoint._

Chapter 29: Dodging

Andrew let out a sharp yell of frustration as Vlad managed to dodge his attacks.

"Do you want me to get Erin out of here?" Robin cried in Vlad's direction.

Erin grabbed Robin's arm and yanked him around to face her, "No." She told him firmly.

Vlad shook his head from his stance with Andrew, "No."

If Erin left the room he couldn't keep an eye on her. He conceded that it might sound possessive but this way he could see if anyone would make a direct beeline for her. If she was out of his sight they could take her without his knowing.

Vlad was momentarily distracted from Andrew and that gave his opponent an advantage. He raised his arm and drew his stake down rapidly towards the youngest vampire.

The stake caught itself in the leather of Vlad's sleeve. He yanked his arm back, the edge of the stake snapping off at the sudden force of his movements. Vlad let out a light hiss as he felt the stake perilously close to his skin.

Andrew looked down at the stake, it was too short not to use without getting far too close to the vampire. He sheathed it back in his belt, it would be perfect as a throwing stake instead.

Vlad watched him carefully; he didn't want to underestimate this slayer. Underestimating a slayer could mean death.

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The other vampires in the room hadn't gone unnoticed by George and the Nobles. Thomas set his sights on Bertrand and George seemed to target the Count who didn't seem too bothered about being singled out. The Count actually seemed to be enjoying this.

Steph set her sights on the Dracula sister. She looked the least likely to be trained and therefore a more easy target for her.

Steph held the stake out in front of her; she was holding it tensely unlike her husband who gripped his loosely.

Ingrid smirked slightly; she had a feeling the slayer woman would pick her to fight. There was something in her eyes that said she'd tackle the defenceless vampire. Ingrid wasn't stupid though; she'd seen Bertrand train and Vlad practice. She'd heard the advice the four hundred year old vampire give to his future sovereign. She could at least try to apply it here and now.

Steph raised her stake and aimed for Ingrid. Ingrid easily twisted out from under Steph's attack.

Ingrid noticed that Steph seemed to have more skill with her stake in her left hand, that was when the stake switched hands every now and again. She was naturally left handed just like Erin she wondered if her husband was behind her being forced to use her right hand. Erin would probably be forced to use that hand as well.

Something in Steph's movements also told her that the slayer woman didn't really want to fight her There was something there that told her that she wasn't using her full abilities as a slayer. Ingrid didn't know whether to feel relieved or insulted at that.

Steph aimed blows at her chest, trying her best to land her blows forgetting the advanced speed vampires had. Ingrid managed to land a few of her own forcing Steph further and further back.

Steph charged at her suddenly, surprising Ingrid. Suddenly instead of one stake she had two in her hands instead.

Ingrid had to get out of the way quickly.

Ingrid tripped backwards slightly and she cursed the long dresses she'd taken to wearing.

She fell backwards hitting her head on the floor sharply. She felt her vision swim before blackness overtook her.

Steph leaned over Ingrid a small smile on her face; Ingrid had just made her task simpler. She leaned over her still form, drawing the stake back fully behind her head, grasping it with both hands preparing to drive it into Ingrid's heart as hard as she could.

Suddenly hands grasped the stake from behind while it was still above her head, Steph looked up into the eyes of Mina Van Helsing.

Mina had noticed the Dracula sister fall, staking an unconscious vampire was dishonourable besides the fact they didn't want the Truce damaged in any way.

Mina yanked the stake away from Steph's hands, splinters from it lodging in Steph's hands.

Steph twisted trying to attack Mina, but Mina pushed her to the ground quickly so Steph's stomach was pressed against the damp, dusty floorboards. She straddled her, placing her weight on the small of Steph's back, Steph struggled but Mia was positioned perfectly so she couldn't be thrown off. Mina grabbed Steph's hands and pinned them behind her back.

Self-defence had taught her this, not slayer training.

Mina searched the room looking for her son. "JONNO!" She cried.

Jonno caught her gaze, reaching into his combat trousers a loud ripping sound was heard as the Velcro was separated. He threw two cable ties to her and in a flash Mina had bound Steph's hands behind her back, before binding her feet tightly together.

That was one slayer taken care off.

"Bertrand!" Mina shouted, immediately she saw Bertrand speed to her leaving his fight with Thomas. Bertrand immediately looked down at Ingrid. Ingrid looked so peaceful; she looked her true age unconscious rather than the aging effects that bitterness had piled on her.

He knew what Mina was asking and hoisted Ingrid into his arms before speeding out of the room to put her somewhere safe.

Vlad could handle the slayers until he got back.

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Thomas let out a shout as he saw his wife tackled by Mina Van Helsing, she was more of a slayer than her husband ever was. He was angry with his wife she had many more years training than the woman that had beaten her.

He was insulted that Bertrand had abandoned him. At first he though the vampire was being a coward then he saw him taking Vlad's sister to safety. Part of him wondered if he'd had a lucky escape.

Thomas looked behind the throne after hearing a soft noise. What could be behind the throne?

His stake was poised as he slowly arced widely around it. He didn't want to chance seeing another vampire.

Chloe turned on the waterworks as soon as Thomas Noble drew closer to her. She could use him to her advantage; she'd deliberately shuffled along to this position to make believe she was cowering in fear at what the vampires might do to her.

Robin had just dumped her on one of the chairs when Vlad had gone to change.

Now she could play the victim.

She turned so he could see her ties, she'd deliberately rubbed her wrists raw against them to show what 'monsters' the vampires were.

Thomas let out a growl at their 'treatment' of the young woman. He bent down and quickly sliced through her ties.

"Thanks." She whispered with a watery smile.

Thomas lifted her raw wrists, gently running his fingers across the cable burns. Chloe winced as he did so, exaggerating her pain more than a bit. "Why did they do this?" Chloe jumped into his arms, fisting her hands in his vest.

"Vlad offered to marry me if I helped him saved Erin, then he went back on his deal after I helped him." She sobbed harder. She clutched at Erin's father, a small smile on her face as she buried her head in his chest.

"I wouldn't believe her if I was you."

They turned to face Robin.

Robin looked at his sister, shaking his head in disbelief. "She's lying, she blackmailed Vlad into it. Vlad was desperate to save Erin because he loves her." Robin looked at Erin's father, honesty in his face.

"You're lying…"

"I'm her brother, I know Chloe better than anyone." Robin looked at his sister, hurt all over his face. "Why?"

"You couldn't see what Vlad was could you? You always wanted him to be a vampire when he hated it. I wanted to help Vlad, I always did and get him out of being a vampire. He never noticed us…" Her voice quietened as she clarified more, "Me."

Robin shook his head; this was nearly six years ago now. "He was thirteen and you were eleven Chloe! Vlad never thought about you that way, you were both too young." It was strange talking about his sister's unrequited feelings for his best friend.

"It was real Robin."

"Only to you Chloe, Vlad's in love, properly for the first time and for the last. He'll never change his feelings."

"He has the power to change his world, he can destroy them or stop them killing us. He needs someone by his side to make sure he does do that. Erin won't be able to make him see sense and do that."

"Vlad's protected Erin from the day he met her, she's protected him. She knows him better than either of us ever had because he'd let her understand him." Chloe scoffed, Erin had only known him for a few months, what could she possibly know about Vladimir Dracula? "Vlad's never wanted humans or slayers to be hurt. He's going to stick to that." Robin knew that for certain, Vlad had clearly never changed his mind.

Thomas launched himself at Robin, unable to listen to anymore of his 'lies'. Robin was knocked to the ground and Chloe took the chance to try and escape from the room.

Robin felt Thomas' forearm digging into his throat cutting off his air supply, he really wished he'd been bitten four years ago now because then this wouldn't bother him.

He tried kicking at Thomas but nothing seemed to faze him.

Suddenly the pressure wasn't there anymore and he looked across to see the Count throwing Thomas against the wall.

Robin coughed as air rushed back into his lungs trying to compensate for not getting any at all.

He nodded his thanks to the Count before chasing after his sister.

Chloe hadn't left the room just yet she was hobbling slightly; her deliberately creating cable burns around her ankles had made them painful to walk on. That was giving Robin the advantage.

Robin grabbed his sister forcibly, Chloe tried to escape from him but her brother knew exactly how to handle her.

Jonno ran to his side and grabbed Chloe with his, Robin held her still as Jonno rebound her hands tighter than before. This time she would truly have cable tie burns.

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Andrew wasn't going to give up at all. He'd never met a vampire this highly trained before, he was a challenge but he knew he'd beat him.

Vlad ducked the poorly aimed blow that was sent his way. Andrew was becoming tired; the adrenaline was beginning to wear off.

Vlad's forearms met Andrew's and Andrew winced at the pain that jolted through his arm. It was like hitting concrete as their blows met. He wouldn't stop though. He aimed harder blows but Vlad deflected each and every one, more pain shot though his arms, as the vampire didn't look the least bit tired.

Vlad managed to land a particularly powerful blow to Andrew's stomach causing him to gasp and grip it. Gasping as the pain overwhelmed him. Vlad tipped his head; he didn't think he'd used that much power.

He wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste though.

Vlad kicked his legs and Andrew flew backwards, he landed on his right wrist awkwardly, his back jolting hard against the floor he could feel the splinters from the floor digging into his neck.

Vlad could smell the faint aroma of the slayer's blood that was drawn as the splinters pierced the skin. The smell disgusted him. He'd always hated the scent of slayers blood, unlike the rest of his kind.

Andrew spun on the floor; almost as if he was pulling off a break dancing move and his legs caught Vlad's back sending the vampire sprawling onto his stomach.

Andrew saw his chance and reached with his right wrist into his pockets, he found what he was looking for but hissed as the motion made his wrist throb and scream with pain. He grinned a manic grin as he slammed the item onto Vlad's back.

Vlad let out a cry as he felt the burning sensation from the garlic bulb emanating through his leather.

If there was one thing that would cause Vlad's fangs to lower it was garlic.

Vlad spun, his strength startling Andrew. He lifted his hand, clutching Andrew's flak vest and threw him across the room as far and hard as he could.

Andrew slammed into the sofa, the springs squeaking and groaning before it collapsed under his weight.

The garlic flew across the room, hitting Jonno in the neck causing him to wince and rub his neck.

Vlad took a deep breath, trying to use the sensation to calm him. He used those few seconds he had to stand and refocus as Andrew charged at him again. This time Vlad's opponent was more sluggish than before, obviously he was in pain this time.

Andrew's clothes were torn in places and untidy. Andrew's once perfect hair was all over the place sticking up in tufts whereas the only problem with Vlad's was the fact his fringe had slipped to the centre of his forehead from its normal parting.

He didn't look anywhere near as bad as Andrew and it seemed to anger the vain slayer more.

He drew back his fist to aim for Vlad's jaw. Vlad caught his fist with ease and tightened his grip around it. Andrew cried out but Vlad didn't relinquish his grip.

Vlad spun him around forcing his hand behind his back his fangs glistening. He wasn't going to bite him but from the way Andrew quivered like a child in his grasp he obviously thought he did. While Andrew was taller than him the grip he had on him forced his knees to buckle and he slid to the floor.

Then Vlad saw something out of the corner of his eye and he felt his power well up inside him in response.

How dare he?

Vlad threw out his arm and within seconds Andrew was pinned to the ceiling and he wasn't going anywhere any time soon no matter how hard he struggled against the invisible bonds that pinned him there.

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Erin found a hand being clamped around her wrist. She arched backwards slightly as it was yanked closer to them.

"No one disgraces my family."

TBC

_A/N: Thanks for reading._


	30. Split Second

_A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1._

_The last chapter…_

Chapter 30: Split Second

Erin tried to pull her wrist from him; they looked like they were playing tug of war with her wrist. His grip was bruising and she knew if nothing else she'd have vivid purple marks where his fingers had been. She knew if she yanked too hard she would end up with a dislocated wrist or something else.

Erin kicked him in the groin as hard as she could. George Hartleigh doubled over, one hand automatically flying to the sensitive place she'd aimed for. His grip didn't leave her wrist though.

George was still strong from all his years as a trained slayer, he liked to keep in shape just in case his services were ever required regardless of the fact that they'd retired him and given him a desk job unlike the other three heads of the Guild.

George twisted her around, her arm pressed against her back awkwardly where she couldn't pull away.

Erin's teeth ground together as he waited for her to cry out. Erin didn't make a sound so his face twisted into a sneer; no one ever managed to remain quiet before.

He grasped her wrist with his other hand and twisted in opposite directions, almost as if he was going to give her a Chinese Burn.

She let out a small gasp as he twisted her wrist tighter and more sharply.

"Let go!" She hissed at George Hartleigh.

He leaned closer to her ear, his warm breath ghosting across her cheek. "My son should have been your husband. A slayer has never had their license revoked in the history of the Guild. We're a disgrace because of you…" Erin had brought down their name and smeared it in dirt as she was now associated with them. Their family had a perfect record for five hundred years and she'd destroyed it by being with a vampire.

"Good!" She gritted out, kicking her legs out backwards hitting him hard in his shin. George stepped back a fraction before twisting her wrist again. Erin buckled and arched more at the burning sensation shooting through her entire arm.

Erin let out a scream this time as she felt the bones close to cracking or dislocating, her breath coming in short pants and gasps.

George was suddenly thrown away from her as far as he would go. His head collided with the wall, knocking him out cold.

Vlad blurred in front of her, he lifted her wrist and inspected it, kissing it lightly. Erin couldn't help but smile at his tender actions. She could already see the discoloration on her skin.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, gently rubbing her wrist, Erin closed her eyes briefly at the relief his cooler fingers brought to the pain.

"Yeah." She answered truthfully. George hadn't done as much damage as he could have.

Vlad looked back at everyone else in the room. Two out of four slayers were now subdued. No one had been killed yet but he didn't want to chance it. It was about time the slayers realised that he wasn't the monster they took him to be.

He glanced across at Jonno who was binging George's wrists tightly.

This fight could go on for hours if it wasn't dealt with immediately.

He could deal with it in a matter of moments. This was the first chance he had to put an end to it and he was going to take it.

He didn't care how he'd look to the Nobles.

The entire room began to shake, dust fell from the rafters adding to the already dust laden floor. Erin grabbed hold of Vlad knowing his sense of balance was greater than hers.

"ENOUGH!"

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Vlad's power display made everyone freeze where they were. Almost all wore terrified expressions on their faces as they looked at him as if they were afraid he'd bring the school down around them.

The Count and Bertrand flew behind Vlad in a flash. The slayers remained guarding their prisoners.

"This 'fight' has gone on long enough." He snapped at them. Vlad waved his hand and Thomas' stake exploded into a million tiny splinters.

At almost the same time Andrew dropped from the ceiling, landing in a painful heap on the floor. Andrew groaned but there was nothing broken – unfortunately.

Thomas laughed, looking at his daughter as if to say 'you're fiancé is a coward'. "So you're being a coward…"

Vlad cut him off as lightning flashed outside with his next words, "I'm not willing to see anyone get hurt. There is a Truce for a reason. You want your family name in honour, to be restored to the righteous Nobles family but here you are going against that Truce by attacking us because Erin actually chose to get to know a vampire and she found out that we can't help what we are." He was talking about nature not nurture.

"Erin…"

Vlad stood tall in front of them, his assertiveness pushing forward. "Being a vampire isn't a disease you can cure, I can't help it anymore than you can help being human. I was born this way, if I could be a human I would be one." Erin gently squeezed his arm.

"We're slay…"

Vlad cut them off with a harsh glare, "Biologically you are human, being a slayer is a job nothing else. Erin has the choice to be what she wants." Vlad snapped at them, "If she doesn't want to be a slayer she doesn't have to…"

"Every Noble in our family has been a slayer!" Thomas snapped at him, glaring at his daughter, "She needs to understand that not doing her 'job'," He used Vlad's word deliberately, "She's brought shame on our family."

Vlad hated anyone being accused of something because they didn't follow what their parents wanted.

"I WASN'T FINISHED!" He roared his fangs jutting down making them all shrink back. Fire encircled the entire room, dancing a foot above the floorboards as his anger got the better of them. "My name is tainted amongst my kind." He snapped at them. "We left our home, I won't drink human blood, I like being *nice* to breathers and slayers. I want peace." He continued, "I don't care about my clan honour, I care about the future."

Thomas opened his mouth to speak, "But…" He paused seeing the glare Vlad shot him, Vlad wanted to bite him to shut him up in that moment.

Erin squeezed his shoulder, telling him to continue she wanted her parents to hear this. "By choosing Erin I will be classed as a disgrace amongst most of my kind but I don't care about that because I love her enough to put her first over what I or they want." He slowly unclenched his fists from his leather. "Something you should have done. If you love Erin you'll let her make her own choices."

Steph didn't realise that it would affect Vlad's clan, they'd only thought of their own. Both of them had taken a gamble in this relationship and by the looks of it, it had eventually paid off.

Silence ruled over them for a few moments. "What if she wants to leave you?"

"Then she can. I won't force her into anything. I asked her to marry me but I'm not forcing her into it. I'm trying to follow your customs by waiting until she's twenty-one."

This surprised the Nobles they'd expected it as soon as he turned eighteen, but Thomas had a suspicious mind. He didn't trust them in the least. Vlad was probably only saying this to lull them into a false sense of security.

Steph spoke she couldn't believe it would be Erin's choice to become a half fang, it had never been willingly chosen before. "But you're forcing her to become one of you when she marries you."

Vlad looked down, he didn't want it to happen but he didn't have a choice. They wouldn't believe him even if he told them that.

"I've lived with Vlad's for six months." Erin began loudly, "I don't care that they drink blood or that their habits are different to ours. They gave me a home and they haven't pushed me to become something I'm not." It was Vlad who'd they'd pushed to realise his potential; his destiny had only been pushed for when they realised what he was.

"They are pushing you now…" Erin shook her head as her mother spoke. Even in this she had a say.

Erin looked at Vlad a slight smile crossing her lips, it was the opposite of what they thought, "This is so I can be with him. By becoming like him I'm more protected from his kind and our lifespans will match." Erin's voice dropped lower. "And so that I can have his children."

Vlad moved closer, bending down to whisper in her ear, "You know it hasn't been proved that you can't…"

"I know, but this way we know its possible." She smiled at him; she then looked at her parents. "This is my choice now, I don't want you involved in my life again." She held out her arms, "This is my family now."

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Those words angered her parents; Erin truly didn't want anything more to do with them though. They'd hurt her too much over the last week for her to forgive them. They'd tried to kill Vlad, force her to become a slayer and force her into marriage. True parents wouldn't do that to anyone. She wasn't a burden that could be got rid of easily.

"He's made you think this!" Tom shouted at her, trying to get her to see 'sense'. "That's vampire's manipulated you…"

"Just like you've always done?" She protested angrily, "Even vampires don't marry their daughters off for a destiny that their parents make up for them."

"We're changing those laws." Mina informed them, "Any contracts made will now be invalid after this." Erin had proven why that law needed to be changed.

"We've always known what's best for you…"

"What's best for me is leaving me with Vlad. Like I said from the beginning. Do you even know he attacked me in the school?" She asked them, pointing towards Andrew, "You knew he was there but I bet Grantham didn't tell you that."

Her parents looked at Andrew who looked too innocent for his own good. Andrew's eyes were narrowed slightly though as he sent a glare that told Erin to shut up.

"Vlad was the one who stopped him." If Vlad hadn't been there then she didn't even want to think about what Andrew might have done to her.

"You attacked her?" Thomas' outrage couldn't be masked. Erin was right this part had been left out of Grantham's information.

Andrew looked at them in defiance, his fists clenched at his weapons belt. "My fiancée needed teaching a lesson. She still does." His face was full of thunder as he looked at Erin, he'd never come across a woman who was as much of a challenge as she was. Erin tipped her head and raised her eyebrows.

"She's never been your fiancée," Vlad told him firmly, his arms crossed against his chest his hands clenched as he tried not to lash out at Andrew. "Erin's always been my fiancée." Erin tucked her hand behind her and slowly laced her fingers in his.

"It can't be stopped now, its already being set in motion." Jonno told them, "You know what Vlad's capable of and Erin's made up her mind. I don't think there was ever any other choice for her. I've known Vlad for years, he's not lying when he said he'll let her decide." Erin nodded agreeing with him. "This will help strengthen the Truce. Erin becoming a vampire will ensure Vlad sticks to the terms for the rest of his unlife. Erin won't have her license back because she doesn't want it. She's making her own choices; her destiny was to bring our kinds together not to continue to push them apart. Don't make this worse than it already is."

In trying to get Erin to accept her responsibilities they'd themselves gone against the Guild itself. They would have to face that. Erin's decision had been sanctioned by the Guild as well, even if she wasn't a member.

"Erin's free to chose her own destiny with Vlad, you can't stop her. We can lock you up or leave the vampires to deal with you but I think it would be better if you just accepted it. Erin is with Vlad and that won't change. You tried before and you failed. They're not supposed to be separated." Jonno finished.

The Nobles looked at each other, neither of them wanted to face vampire or slayer punishment. Their daughter and this vampire had outwitted them.

"When's the wedding? After your eighteenth?" Tom snarled at him, trying to trip him up again. Vampires were experts at lying.

Vlad was patient he knew what Thomas was trying to do. "I said after her twenty first birthday, but its up to Erin if she wants it before or after that. I won't choose for her." Vlad would choose with her but not for her, he wasn't going to rush her into anything she didn't want not after the life she'd had.

Steph looked at him, "And transforming her?" It was an inevitable part of their engagement.

Tears glistened in Steph's eyes as she looked at her husband, she didn't want the original contract for her daughter but she didn't want this for her either. Vlad had demonstrated he could stop them in a heartbeat if he wanted to. Erin had clearly said she didn't want them in her life anymore.

Thomas wanted to know the answer to that one too. He'd already lost a son to a vampire, he didn't really want to lose his daughter too because this vampire couldn't keep his fangs away.

"When she wants me to and not before." Vlad told them quietly, he would never force it on her he'd wait until she was ready. Erin's gaze softened as she looked at Vlad, a small smile crossing her face. She knew she couldn't be transformed legally until his eighteenth birthday; he was desperate to give her all the time she wanted.

The Nobles looked at Jonno and Mina, they had no choice in this now. The couple had clearly thought all of this through carefully; they seemed to know what they were doing. They weren't impressed with Erin's choices but there was little they could do.

They would never escape this room; the future Grand High Vampire wouldn't let them. They had forced their daughter to rebel against them. It had been her decision so they didn't want her coming crying back to them at the end of all this.

"Maybe we were wrong with the contract…" Steph began slowly, she didn't want to fight any more she wanted her daughter back, she didn't want Erin to disown them. Erin's eyes hardened, there was no maybe about it. "You've made up your mind now, we don't think it's the right one but give us time and we might be able to accept it."

It didn't escape anyone's attention that there were no promises in that statement but it was an offer to try. They'd take that.

Thomas nodded stiffly 'accepting' it; there was nothing he could do about this at the moment. They were forced to accept it, but there was still three years to undo this. Three years until she was bound to him for eternity in mating. He didn't know about his wife but 'giving them time' was to get her out of becoming one of them.

Conceding defeat might be the best thing – for the moment. The vampires had won this battle but they hadn't won the war yet.

Vlad's eyes narrowed, he didn't believe him for a moment but there would be plenty of time to deal with that later and make preparations for what they might do.

"Just wait until she's able to sink her fangs into you. Erin will look awesome." Robin grinned, unable to stop himself.

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Robin's comment hit the wrong mark, it was supposed to be a joke but it didn't work. No one was sure whether that was aimed at Vlad or the slayers in the room.

Vlad turned angrily to face Robin, taking his eyes off the slayers for a split second.

Vlad was suddenly shoved to the side, stumbling into his friend. He didn't have a clue who'd pushed him. Robin fell to the ground, not having been prepared for Vlad to slam into him. . Robin let out a faint cry as his hip impacted with the hard wood of the floorboards.

Vlad couldn't understand why he'd been pushed, until he saw the look on Andrew's face.

He couldn't make out whether it was horrified at missing or shocked at him being pushed out the way.

Vlad glanced around but he couldn't work out what he'd thrown, it must have been stopped by one of the others.

That's when he noticed Andrew's belt was empty; the stake he'd snapped on Vlad's leather was missing. He couldn't see it looking around. The Count or Bertrand must have stopped it; looking at Erin from her position with her back to him he knew she'd pushed him out of harms way.

Vlad opened his mouth to speak, watching as Jonno and Mina pounced on Andrew holding him back and forcing his still outstretched arm down. He'd thrown the stake but where was it?

Erin stumbled back into him, trembling in shock at what had just almost happened – or so he assumed.

Vlad caught her as she began to fall downwards her knees buckling under her, letting out a gasp.

She lifted her hand grabbing his arm as she fell, trying to find something to hold, leaving a trail of blood on his leathers.

Vlad's eyes were automatically drawn to the stake lodged firmly in her stomach.

THE END

A/N: I'd like to say thank you to everyone who's read this fic.

_Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far. They've really inspired me on._

_I am going to write a sequel called 'Fortitude'; the first couple of chapters will be uploaded some time on Thursday. As you've probably guessed it'll continue directly from the end of this fic._

_I'll add an author's note on this to let you know when its up._

_I would like to say thank you again for all your support during the creation of 'Predetermined'._

_I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed typing it._


	31. Sequel News

Author's Note

Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing this story.

Thank you for all the reviews, you've really inspired me to keep writing this story and the next. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this story.

I have posted the sequel to this story. It's called 'Fortitude'.

Thank you again for reading

yeknodelttil


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